President Barack Obama tapes the Weekly Address in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. November 26, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

In this week's address, the President wished everyone a happy Thanksgiving and reflected on the history of our country and its celebration of diversity. He gave thanks for the many Americans who sacrifice every day, from volunteer workers who serve their communities, to men and women in uniform who serve us all.

On Thanksgiving, a holiday that is uniquely American, he reminded us to focus on what unites -- our commitment to American ideals like justice and equality and our gratitude and love for our country.

Transcript | mp4 | mp3

This week, the President traveled to Las Vegas and Chicago to highlight the steps he is taking to reform our broken immigration system, awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and delivered a statement on the Grand Jury's decision in Ferguson, while the Vice President and Dr. Biden visited Ukraine and Turkey. That's November 21st to November 27th or, "We Need Turkey."

America has developed a wide number of social innovations that have matured from novel experiments into best practices for healthy societies.  We pioneered new approaches to charitable giving such as the community foundation.  We developed national service into a standard rite for youth development.  But in just a few short years, #GivingTuesday has emerged as a potent new model of online and offline engagement that was pioneered in our country but has taken root around the world.

Since it launched in 2012, #GivingTuesday has become a case study in community organizing in the 21st century.  It follows the consumer traditions of Black Friday and Cyber Monday on the public calendar. But, unlike these commercial counterparts, #GivingTuesday offers a moment on the calendar to encourage Americans to reflect and give back.  Some might choose to volunteer their talent, others might make charitable contributions and still others simply to connect with friends and loved ones.  Through millions of online clicks and offline acts, we expect #GivingTuesday will take many forms, but all will be energized by a common impulse to make life better, especially for those in need.

Last week, the President took action to fix as much of our broken immigration system as possible within the scope of his existing legal authority. The President’s Immigration Accountability Executive Actions are an important step to fix our broken immigration system. Millions of undocumented immigrants who live in the shadows want to play by the rules, pay their fair share of taxes, and get right with the law. The President is taking action to fix as much of the problem as he can, while continuing to work with Congress to pass a comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform bill.

The President has been clear that he can’t fix the immigration system entirely on his own; whatever action he takes will not be a substitute for long-lasting solutions that only comprehensive immigration legislation can provide.

Here are the five things that you should know about the President’s initiatives impacting undocumented immigrants in the United States.

Over the past year, we’ve seen 10 million additional Americans gain health insurance, leading to a 26 percent drop in adults living without health coverage. This is progress which can’t be adequately quantified by the numbers, and as we approach the third week of our second Open Enrollment period this Thanksgiving weekend, we fully expect hundreds of thousands of families to use part of their time together to gather around their laptops, tablets and computers to make sure everyone has the health coverage they need to stay healthy in the new year.  

Of the millions of Americans who are newly covered thanks to the ACA, many saw doctors for the first time in years, many caught or prevented conditions before they became life threatening, and millions more slept soundly with the peace of mind that they weren’t living just one accident or unexpected illness away from losing everything. Every day, the President hears from hundreds or thousands of these folks who write the President and share their story. As we kick off the holiday season here at the White House, we reached out to handful of these folks to let them know the President appreciated reading their letters, and to hear a little more about their stories in hopes that their experiences may compel others to also visit HealthCare.gov this holiday season. 

Regina Moran had already battled cancer twice by the time she turned 25. A social worker in Philadelphia, she was paying nearly $700 per month for insurance and costly medications not covered under her plan. She was working multiple jobs and was forced to put vacations, graduate school, and even her wedding on hold to pay for health coverage for the medicine she needed. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, that has all changed.

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On Wednesday, November 26th, President Obama will announce the National Thanksgiving Turkey and, once again, we’re inviting the American people to decide which bird takes the title.

Since at least the 19th century, Americans have been sending turkeys to the President for the holidays. As part of a more recent tradition that began in 2012, the National Thanksgiving Turkey will be chosen by the public through an online vote. This year’s top turkeys, Mac and Cheese, are going beak-to-beak on Twitter -- and it's up to you to decide who will be America's next top turkey.

Mac and Cheese flock from Cooper Farms in Oakwood, Ohio. Mac's got a grand champion style strut and his gobble has a country ring to it. Cheese is a feather-shaker with a rhythmic gobble that loves to cheese it up for the the cameras.

Which turkey has what it takes?

Billy Lawless, Irish business owner and co-founder, Illinois Business Immigration Center, introduces President Barack Obama for remarks on immigration at the Copernicus Community Center in Chicago, Illinois, Nov. 25, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

This afternoon, President Obama traveled back to his hometown of Chicago to meet with civic and business leaders and detail the reasons he's acting on his own to help fix our broken immigration system.

Speaking from a Polish community center in Chicago, the President reminded us that every president since Eisenhower has used his executive authority to address immigration issues. In fact, every president for the last 50 years has taken action to keep families together and help improve our nation's immigration system.

"We didn’t raise the Statue of Liberty with her back to the world; we did it...with her light...shining." —Obama #ImmigrationAction

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 25, 2014

Tonight, speaking from the White House Briefing Room, President Obama spoke to the American people about the announcement of the grand jury's decision in the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The President joined Michael Brown’s parents in calling on anyone who protests to do so peacefully.

In his remarks, the President offered a path forward for our country, noting that the situation in Ferguson speaks to broader challenges we still face as a nation including the mistrust between law enforcement and communities of color. The President asked the nation to heed a grieving father’s words tonight and called on the country to seize this moment tomorrow as an opportunity for change.

President Obama and our Administration understand the importance of start-ups and small businesses to economic growth in the United States and around the world. As the Secretary of Commerce and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), we were proud to represent the U.S. last week at the premier forum on entrepreneurship in the world: the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES).

Traveling to Morocco with a delegation led by Vice President Biden, we came to GES with a clear purpose: to reaffirm President Obama’s commitment to entrepreneurship worldwide and to emphasize America’s leadership as the epicenter of invention and innovation – a model for other countries to follow.

We came to learn; to engage with young men and women from across the globe; and, hopefully, to inspire. And we have come away from this experience inspired ourselves.