Obama Watch: Week of April 19
White | Black South Africans clash outside of a courthouse. See photos.
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Monday's Meetings - After meeting with senior advisers Monday afternoon, the President met with Sudan Special Envoy General Scott Gration.
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Fundraising in California - Then, later in the afternoon, Obama flew out to California to attend fundraisers for his party. First he spoke at a reception for Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and the Democratic National Committee at the California Science Center. Then he went to the Museum of Natural History to deliver remarks at another fundraising dinner. He’ll return to D.C. on Tuesday evening.
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Replacing Stevens - The President will meet with Republican and Democrat leaders from the Senate and the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday morning to talk about the Supreme Court vacancy. Long-serving Justice John Paul Stevens, who celebrates his 90th birthday on Tuesday, recently announced his retirement.
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Winter Olympians Visit DC - On Wednesday afternoon, the president, first lady and the White House Office on Olympic, Paralympic and Youth Sport will welcome US Olympic and Paralympic athletes to the White House. The Obamas will congratulate and thank the teams for representing the country during the Vancouver Winter Games.
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To New York - On Thursday, President Obama will head to New York City to deliver a speech laying out his plan to reform Wall Street at Cooper Union, a private college. In the upcoming weeks, Obama will travel around the nation to sell his proposal on financial reform. He’s certain to come up against heavy Republican opposition, though, because they feel his plan could create more problems than it solves.
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Weekend in North Carolina - The First Couple will travel to Asheville, North Carolina on Friday, where they will spend the weekend. No public events are planned for the two while they’re on their short getaway.
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Over the Weekend - Due to the volcanic ash in Iceland, President Obama had to cancel his scheduled trip to Poland this past weekend to attend the funeral of President Lech Kaczynski and First Lady Maria Kaczynska. They were killed earlier this month when their plane crashed in dense fog en route to Russia to mark the anniversary of the Katyn massacre. Obama called Poland’s Acting President Bronisław Maria Komorowski to express his condolences.
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In First Lady News... - During an interview with Univision’s “Al Punto,” The First Lady emphasized that immigration reform is still a top priority for her husband’s administration, even though he hasn’t been able to make any significant headway during his time in office. Partisanship is getting in the way, she says. “What we all have to understand…is that the president needs the support of two parties of Congress to get major reform done.”
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Obamas Warn Daughters About Facebook - When it comes to computers and internet, daughters Sasha and Malia have limits, the First Lady told CNN en Espanol during her visit to Mexico. In addition to rationing time online, both she and the president ask their daughters a lot of questions while they’re on the computer and warn them about the dangers of popular sites like Facebook and “that sort of gossip mill.” The First Lady also said that schools are helpful in educating parents and kids on the pros, cons and dangers of the net.