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WASHINGTON, D.C. – First lady Michelle Obama is flying 150 students and their chaperones to Washington D.C. to dote on their college acceptance, including undocumented students enrolling this year through her husband’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Amairany Bautista, an undocumented student who graduated from Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington, will be among those trekking to the White House July 23 for the special event for students who have overcome odds to attend college, The News Tribune reports. “On June 15, 2012, President Obama announced a way to apply for a two-year work permit that gave me some...

Michelle Obama compared her struggle to succeed as a young black woman in America to the experience of British Muslim girls during a visit to in inner-city girls school in London. The First Lady, who is visiting the UK for two days, and met with Prince Harry this morning, struggled to hold back tears as she gave an emotional speech to Mulberry School for Girls in London's Tower Hamlets. She'll meet with Prime Minister David Cameron later today. She said: "Girls like you inspire me and impress me every single day. "When I look out at all these young women,...

Michelle Obama gave a candid view Saturday of the challenges and emotional toll of being the country’s first black first lady. Obama, speaking to graduates at Tuskegee University in Alabama, described insensitive media questions and derogatory remarks from political pundits that she said have kept her up at night. “You might remember the on-stage celebratory fist bump between me and my husband after a primary win that was referred to as a ‘terrorist fist jab,’ ” she said.

Michelle Obama told an audience attending her book signing Tuesday that the White House garden is still “semi-open to the public” because visitors can see it through the fence. She was promoting her book, “American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America,” released in May 2012. “[M]y goal in this book is to share the story of the creation of the garden,” Michelle Obama said during the Tuesday morning signing at Washington’s Politics and Prose Bookstore, “because while it is semi-open to the public — because if you visit the White House along the...

First lady Michelle Obama increasingly is being used by the campaign to boost the president’s support among African-American women, military families and gays. Her campaign priorities are showcased in a June 3 post on the campaign website which features the first lady warning supporters about the steps needed to register, lauding gays, lesbians and military families. -SNIP- The first lady’s tone in the video is a sharp change from her widely panned remarks in 2008. In Feb. 2008, she declared that “for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country because it feels like hope...

Billed as part of first lady Michelle Obama’s “Joining Forces” initiative for military families — and perhaps as a way to woo average American voters — Mrs. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden’s wife, Dr. Jill Biden, will serve as Grand Marshals of the November 20 season-ending NASCAR Ford 400.

Bowing to pressure from health advocates and parents, McDonald’s is putting the Happy Meal on a diet. The company announced Tuesday that it would more than halve the amount of French fries and add fruit to its popular children’s meal in an effort to reduce the overall calorie count by 20 percent. But McDonald’s appeasement only went so far. A toy will still come with each Happy Meal despite criticism that the trinkets, often with tie-ins to movies like “Toy Story,” foster a powerful connection between children and the often calorie-laden meals. While Happy Meals account for less than 10...

First Lady Michelle Obama urged young Africans on Wednesday to fight for women's rights and battle the stigma of AIDS, using her husband's "yes, we can" campaign slogan to motivate youth across the continent. Obama is on her second solo trip abroad as first lady to promote issues such as education, health and wellness. But her speech to a group of young women and men at Regina Mundi Church, which played a role in South Africa's anti-apartheid movement, touched on much harder topics: race, discrimination, democracy, and development. Obama, who is traveling with her mother and two daughters, drew on...

The latest Pew Research Center national poll released today underscores how slender a beachhead President Obama has established among whites more than two years into his presidency. In his 2008 election, Obama ran well only among two groups of whites -- young people and white women with at least a four year college education, two groups that are generally receptive to government activism. In the 2010 GOP landslide, those groups stuck with Democrats relatively more loyally than the rest of the white electorate, but the party's support tumbled even among them. Figures provided to National Journal by Pew from the...

(CNSNews.com) - First Lady Michelle Obama will hold another “listen-only” conference call with reporters this afternoon, continuing a pattern of holding events for the media where access is sharply limited. When public figures in Washington, D.C., hold telephone briefings for the press—which are designed to attract press coverage for some item the briefer is seeking to promote--they routinely allow reporters listening to the briefing to ask at least a few questions. The First Lady appears to be establishing a new routine, where she speaks and--from beginning to end--reporters mutely listen.

President Obama's words at lighting of National Christmas Tree, as provided by the White House -THE PRESIDENT: Merry Christmas, everybody!AUDIENCE: Merry Christmas! THE PRESIDENT: Happy holidays. We are just thrilled to have all of you here. Thank you, Secretary Salazar, for the kind introduction and for all that you’re doing to protect our national parks and our public lands for the future generations. I also want to recognize Neil Mulholland and everyone at the National Park Foundation and at the National Park Service who helped put this event together.

Video at link.

First lady Michelle Obama is challenging the nation's restaurants to add more healthy options to menus, label those items more prominently and market nutritious foods to kids. Speaking at the National Restaurant Association Monday, Mrs. Obama pleaded with restaurants small and large to take a little butter or cream out of their dishes, use low fat milk and provide apple slices or carrots as a default side dish on the kids' menu.

Good morning, Nine years ago, nearly three thousand Americans lost their lives on September 11, 2001. Like many Americans, I was shocked and horrified by the attacks on our country. But I was also inspired by the heroism and selflessness of so many of my fellow Americans in the wake of this tragedy. From the brave men and women of Flight 93 who sacrificed their own lives to save the lives of others, to the first responders who rushed without hesitation to help those in need, to the young men and women who chose to join our Armed Forces following...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- U.S. prosecutors took the rare step Thursday to appeal the sentence handed down to long-powerful state Sen. Vincent Fumo in a sprawling corruption case. Fumo is serving a 4 1/2-year sentence for defrauding the state Senate, a museum and a nonprofit of millions.....

Michelle Obama Speaks To Camp Pendleton Troops By JULIE WATSON CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – First lady Michelle Obama is challenging Americans to come up with ways to show support for U.S. troops and their families. Obama spoke Sunday to about 3,500 service members and their families at Camp Pendleton, which has lost five Marines in the war in Afghanistan in the past week. Obama says Camp Pendleton and its neighboring Southern California communities are a model for the nation in terms of showing support for the military. She says communities can do things such as offer free museum passes, discounts...

This week, a coalition of food and beverage manufacturers -- including Campbell Soup, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Kellogg, Kraft Foods and PepsiCo -- signed up for First Lady Michelle Obama's campaign to reduce childhood obesity within a generation. Pledging to cut portion sizes and trim calories in current products and introduce new, more healthful options, they estimate they can slash 1 trillion calories by the end of 2012 and 1.5 trillion calories by the end of 2015. "This is precisely the kind of real private-sector commitment that we need," the first lady said at a news conference at the Eisenhower Executive...

Here is video of Michelle Obama speaking at the George Washington University Commencement where she told the graduates "Yes you can" change the world. She told the graduating class "it is in our best interests to look beyond our immediate self-interest, and look out for one another globally." Michelle O told the graduates: "So many of today's challenges are borderless, from the economy to terrorism to climate change and that solving those problems demands cooperating with others. And more than any other generation, yours is fully convinced that you're uniquely equipped to solve those challenges. You believe you can change...

News Release Statement on Cancellation of Professor William Ayers's Visit to UW March 30, 2010 -- The director of the Social Justice Research Center at the University of Wyoming cancelled the scheduled appearance of Professor William Ayers. The director announced his decision to the UW administration late Monday evening and noted there are no plans to host Professor Ayers in the future. In his communication to the administration, the director apologized to the university community for any harm that may have come to it and cited personal and professional reasons, including safety concerns, for the cancellation. In response, Tom Buchanan,...