Obama makes first public appearance since leaving office

Former US president Barack Obama is using his first public appearance since leaving office to talk with students about his experiences as a community organizer in Chicago and how that laid the foundation for his political career.

Obama led a student panel today at the University of Chicago, where his presidential library is planned.

He says young people are the key to solving the nation’s most daunting problems and his plan after holding the nation’s highest office is to work with them. He delivered brief remarks at the event before asking students on the panel about what influenced them.

Roughly 500 people, mostly college students, attended the invitation-only event that was also televised.

Yesterday, Obama met privately with young men on the city’s South Side to talk about gang violence and employment.

— AP