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Weekly Address: Top 10 Things that Happened in 2015

Summary: 
President Obama's top 10 things that happened in 2015 that should make every American optimistic about 2016.

In this week's address, the President celebrated the end of the year tradition of list-making with a year-in-review list of his own. The President offered his roundup of the top 10 things that happened in 2015, all of which should make us optimistic about the prospects for 2016. This past year has been one where we’ve seen unprecedented progress in areas ranging from the Iran deal to marriage equality to concluding a historic trade agreement.

The year 2015 brought economic growth, with our unemployment rate dropping to five percent; the normalization of our relations with Cuba and a newly opened U.S. Embassy in Havana; and a historic agreement in Paris to take real action on climate change. The President acknowledged the significant progress of the past year, and looked forward to 2016 and all we have yet to accomplish.

Transcript | mp4 | mp3

Here is the President's Top 10 List of Things that Happened in 2015

10. Building a strong economy

jobs chart 2015

9. Millions of Americans getting health care

Health care insured rate

8. Leading the world in combating climate change

Country climate commitments

7. Charting a new course in Cuba

6. Preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon

The Iran deal blocked pathways

5. Leading a global coalition to fight terrorism

Coalition to Combat ISIL

4. Negotiating the highest-standard trade agreement in history

3. Passing bipartisan legislation to invest in our future

A bipartisan Budget Agreement, signed December 18, 2015

A bipartisan budget agreement

A bipartisan fix to No Child Left Behind, signed December 10, 2015

Fix to No Child Left Behind

2. Making marriage equality a reality for all

Marriage Equality is a Reality

1. The american people working together to make progress happen

Newly naturalized citizens
Newly naturalized citizens wave American flags after taking the Oath of Allegiance during a naturalization ceremony at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., Dec. 15, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)