Pres. Barack Obama signs the economic stimulus bill on Tuesday in Denver, Colorado.
The $787 billion plan will fund infrastructure projects, renewable energy projects and health care, as well as increase unemployment benefits and provide for tax breaks.
President Barack Obama, standing with First Lady Michelle Obama, receives a copy of the Gettysburg Address from an actor portraying former US President Abraham Lincoln during the grand reopening celebration of Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC, on Wednesday night (February 11).
The theatre, site of Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, is being unveiled after an 18-month, $25 million renovation and timed to coincide with the bicentennial of the former US president’s birth.
President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House on Monday night in Washington, DC (view video). Before taking questions from the news media, Obama began his first prime time news conference by urging Congress to pass the $838 billion Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.
“It is absolutely true that we cannot depend on government alone to create jobs or economic growth. That is and must be the role of the private sector. But at this particular moment, with the private sector so weakened by this recession, the federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back to life.”
First Lady Michelle Obama laughs with Nedra Darling, Director of Public Affairs at the Bureau of Indian American Affairs, as she wears a Native American shawl presented to her by Darling during a visit to the Department of the Interior in Washington,DC on Monday.
In the weekly address, Pres. Barack Obama commends the progress the Senate has made on moving the recovery plan forward, and urged its completion.
Shortly before 11:30 Friday night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told his colleagues that debate on the plan would continue Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. The Senate is expected to vote on the plan Tuesday.
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama greet the audience as they attend Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s performance entitled Fiftieth Anniversary Highlights at the Kennedy Center in Washington on Friday night.
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visited Capital City Public Charter School on Tuesday and read The Moon Over Star to the second grade class during their visit (view video here).
The President told the kids that he and the First Lady were tired of being in the White House so they made a surprise trip to the school.
The stop at the school underscored a promise that the Obamas made and insist they will keep: to avoid getting caught up in a White House bubble. They say they will be visible parts of the Washington community - even in the midst of a hectic day. Or a difficult one…
After being released from serving 99 days in jail for his text message scandal, Kwame Kilpatrick left Detroit on a privately chartered jet Tuesday headed for Southlake, an affluent Texas community.
His family has been living in a 2,800-square-foot rental home in the suburb of Ft. Worth since December. Bryson Sinor, a neighbor in “the most affluent neighborhood in the country” said Carlita Kilpatrick is “delightful, and the boys are nice”. He added, “I haven’t met the husband yet.”
According to reports, Kilpatrick is interviewing for a job, but no one seems to be sure where. The court has agreed to let him spend five days in Texas in pursuit of a job opportunity but unless the court also allows him to transfer his probation to Texas, Kilpatrick may be back in Michigan.
First Lady Michelle Obama told employees at the Department of Education to “roll up [their] sleeves” and get ready for “hard work” as the administration works to expand education funding. She also noted that this would be the first in a series of appearances with employees throughout the government.
“Barack and I want to say thank you for what you’ve done. You have to build a team from the bottom up,” the First Lady said. She also added she “wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the public schools who nurtured me and pushed me along”.
On Monday, the Senate confirmed Eric H. Holder Jr. as the nation’s first black attorney general by a vote of 75 to 21.
Holder, 58, will be sworn in today at the Justice Department headquarters in Washington.
“The need for new leadership at the Department of Justice is as critical today as it’s ever been. This confirmation is going to do a great deal to restore the morale and the purpose throughout the department,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy.
