G.O.P. URGES SENATOR REID TO STEP DOWN AFTER REMARKS ABOUT OBAMA

Michael Steele, the Republican Party chairman, called for Senator Harry Reid to step down as U.S. Senate majority leader in the wake of revelations of Mr. Reid’s remarks in 2008 about President Barack Obama’s skin color and dialect.

By Jeff Zeleny and Joseph Berger
Source NY TIMES
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WILL AND JADA PINKETT SMITH INTERVIEW OBAMA

OPRAH WINFREY'S CHRISTMAS AT THE WHITE HOUSE

Oprah Winfrey will usher in the holidays at the White House, visiting President Obama and the First Lady as they prepare for their family’s first Christmas there, on “Christmas at the White House: An Oprah Primetime Special,” airing SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

The intimate, informative and entertaining hour-long special will include a one-on-one conversation with the President, marking the first time Oprah has interviewed him since he took office, as well as an exclusive sit-down interview with the First Couple. The special will showcase behind-the-scenes preparations as the White House gets ready for the holiday season.

JENNIFER HUDSON SINGS FOR THE PRESIDENT

FIRST LADY LOOKS STUNNING AT THE STATE DINNER

Looking very glamorous in an elegant strapless gold gown by Indian-American designer Naeem Khan, the First Lady, Michelle Obama welcomed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Mrs. Gursharan Kaur to the White House Tuesday night at the Obama administration's first "official" state dinner.

Video Clears Up Obama Photo

Video Clears Up Obama Photo

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BREAKING NEWS: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA HAS JUST LANDED IN ACCRA, GHANA.

President Barack Obama, the first lady, Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia, flew into Ghana today on his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa since taking office as the first African American president of the United States.
His roots in Africa, through his Kenyan father, assure him a hero's welcome and he will deliver a message on the importance of good governance in a country that defies stereotypes of a continent blighted by conflict, coups and crisis.
Obama came from the G8 summit in Italy and a two-day visit to Russia earlier this week. On Saturday, he is due to meet President John Atta Mills and address Ghana's parliament before returning to Washington.

President Obama and the First Lady Pack 15,000 Backpacks for Children of Our Troops

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S GRILLING SKILLZ

Chef Bobby Flay advises the President not to take a peek before flipping his steak at the White House Young Mens Barbeque on June 19, 2009. President Obama is the best President ever! I know every staff member in the White House is loving their jobs.

MORE OF THE FIRST FAMILY

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The First Lady and her daughter's Sasha and Malia did in fact visit the set of Harry Potter. It was said to have been a big thrill for all for the Obama girls. Michelle Obama said in an interview that “Harry Potter is huge in our house,” and that President Obama often reads aloud from the seven Harry Potter fantasy novels to the daughters.

Daniel Radcliffe himself started the wheels turning for the visit after he learned Sasha and Malia were fans. He issued an invitation to the Obamas last January, saying, “I’d like to take this opportunity to issue a public invitation to the Obamas that if their daughters would like a private tour of the Harry Potter set, I would be honored to be their personal tour guide.”

Sasha and Malia got a very personal preview of the final chapter of the blockbuster movie franchise. The adaptation of Rowling’s final Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” is set to be released in two installments — November 2010 and July 2011.

Michelle Obama’s spokesperson confirmed Sasha did indeed celebrate her birthday on the Harry Potter film set, but released no additional details.

OBAMA WRITES A NOTE FOR A LITTLE GIRL WHO MISSED SCHOOL

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MORE PICS OF THE FIRST FAMILY IN PARIS

President Barack Obama talks with aides outside the U.S. Ambassador's residence in Paris

President Obama points out a landmark to Malia while touring the Pompidou Centre modern art museum in Paris.

President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama watch as daughters Malia and Sasha light a candle in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

PRESIDENT THREATENED BY UTAH MAN

Authorities have arrested a man who allegedly told bank tellers while cleaning out his savings account in Utah that he was on a mission to kill President Barack Obama.

The Secret Service said Daniel James Murray, 36, was arrested Friday outside a casino in Laughlin, Nev., a gambling town 100 miles from Las Vegas on the Nevada-Arizona line. He was charged Thursday in Salt Lake City with a federal count of conveying threats while talking to tellers last month at Zions First National Bank in St. George, Utah.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Bearnson said Murray was in federal custody in Nevada and likely will get a court date there Monday. Neither Bearnson nor the Secret Service would discuss whether Murray was considered to be a serious threat. Charging documents say Murray, originally from Rexford, N.Y., is the registered owner of eight guns.

He was described by his father and former neighbors in Rexford as troubled but not dangerous, known for strolling down a street wearing a cape while talking to himself. "He's sick. He's been sick for about 10 years," Michael Murray, his father, told the Times Union of Albany, N.Y.

In charging documents filed Thursday, the Secret Service said Daniel Murray made bizarre statements while opening — and then closing within two weeks — an $85,000 savings account. First, he demanded to know if Zions First National Bank was solvent, saying, "I'm sure if citizens happen to lose their money, they will rise up and we could see killing and deaths," bank tellers told a Secret Service agent.

On May 27, as a teller counted out bills no larger than $50, Murray delivered a rambling discourse on the probability of economic and social disorder, ending with "We are on a mission to kill the president of the United States," a bank employee told the Secret Service. The next day, Murray withdrew the remaining $72,000 and closed his account.

In Washington, Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley said Murray offered no resistance when he was arrested at 7 p.m. Friday on a warrant in the parking lot of the Riverside Hotel and Casino in Laughlin, Nev. Wiley wouldn't offer any further details. It wasn't clear if Murray had a lawyer.

SOURCE

THE OBAMA WOMEN CAUSE MEDIA FRENZY IN PARIS!

First Lady Michelle Obama and her beautiful daughters, Sasha (who celebrated her 8th birthday on Sunday) and Malia, 10 caused bit of a media frenzy when they went shopping at Bonpoint inParis.


Malia and Sasha looks like she can't believe all of the attention




Images via Bauer Griffin

D-DAY LANDINGS COMMEMORATIVE CEREMONY

President Barack Obama sits with (L-R) Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Normandy American Cemetery to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944.


First Lady Michelle Obama stands with Carla Bruni-Sarkozy




Images via ANG/Fame Pictures

THE FRESHMAN: PORTRAITS OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

Barak Obama: The Freshman Opening Night Reception at the MB Gallery in Los Angeles.

Mr. President in his college years.


He looks really young here

Lisa Jack the photographer

The pictures on exhibit at the MB Gallery

Twenty of the 36 pictures she took of the president are on display at the West Hollywood's MB Gallery in an exhibition that runs until July 18.


Lisa Jack is the photographer behind the pictures of what the president was like when he was just another college freshman at Occidental College -- with a partly unbuttoned Oxford shirt, a big Panama hat and puffs of cigarette smoke as his props of choice for projecting that coveted aura of post-adolescent confidence and cool.

Obama can thank Jack for keeping the roll of photographs she took of him in 1980 out of circulation until he was elected. Nine were first published in Time Magazine's December "Person of the Year" spread on Obama.

Jack rummaged for the long-ignored negatives in her Minneapolis basement early in 2008, after it became clear Obama was a serious contender for the presidency. The now President is pictured kicking back on a couch in a living room near L.A.'s Occidental College, where he and Jack were students. Jack took these photographs for a class assignment.

SOURCE

EXCLUSIVE: "STAND" PREMIERES ON TV ONE - MAY 24

Check out some sneak peek clips from Tavis Smiley's documentary "STAND." This documentary depicts a cross-country road trip with some of today's most noted social commentators and thinkers including Michael Eric Dyson, Cornel West, and Tavis Smiley. It airs tomorrow, May 24 at 9PM/ET on TV One. Don't forget to watch!

TV ONE: STAND: Michael Eric Dyson Breaks Down

You've never seen Michael Eric Dyson like this. While watching CNN's Black in America, Dyson sees the segment starring his incarcerated brother and it all becomes too much for him, Tavis Smiley, Cornel West and everyone watching.

TV ONE: STAND: Sam and Dave vs. Ike and Tina

R&B icon Sam Moore shares his hilarious story about trying to outperform Ike and Tina Turner. Watch Tavis Smiley, Cornel West and Michael Eric Dyson break out in laughter and then surprise when Sam talks about who was backstage with him.

TV ONE: Stand -- Michael Eric Dyson and Cornel West ...

Who's a better speaker -- MLK or President Obama? Who's a better singer -- Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys or Beyonce? Watch two of the finest intellectuals get loose and debate.

TV ONE -- STAND: Michael Eric Dyson as MLK

Known for his intellect as well as his wit, Michael Eric Dyson explains how some of MLK's marches REALLY started -- all while doing an MLK impersonation.

OBAMA PICS BY PETE SOUZA

President Barack Obama meets with General Charles Bolden, right, and White House aides earlier this week in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. The President announced today his intent to nominate Bolden as Administrator of NASA.

President Barack Obama met with Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete in the Oval Office on Thursday. This was the President's first meeting with an African Head of State. A bust of Martin Luther King is at far left.

President Barack Obama met with Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the new U.S. Commander for Afghanistan, in the Oval Office Tuesday.

President Barack Obama plays basketball at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, May 9, 2009. Comedienne Wanda Sykes brought this up at the White House Correspondent's Dinner, and I want to know too. Do those guys let him win because he's the president. I know I wouldn't. That would be great bragging rights to beat the "MAN."

He got GAME!

The portrait of a "man"!

Check out our President's jumper!

President Barack Obama stops to talk with families after playing basketball at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C.

"STAND" SCREENING PART 2

SUPEROBAMA!!!

The President who can do it all. President Barack Obama started his Saturday by naming a new ambassador to China (introducing Utah's Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman as his choice for U.S. ambassador to China) and then cheering on his daughters Malia and Sasha as they play in separate soccer games.

The "Soccer" dad switched up his gear - going from a business suit to Jeans and a Chicago White Sox jacket. I think it's fair to say that he does need a little help from a stylist with his "soccer" dad attire. He needs to modernize the jeans a little. Too 80's. But none the less - his swagger was in full effect.

Obama cheered and clapped along the sidelines at 7-year-old Sasha's game with two Chicago friends. At one point, after Sasha's team scored, the president excitedly shouted "go ... go ... go ... goal."




Obama then moved on to 10-year-old daughter Malia's soccer match.