 Young Jews place memory plaques, after signing them, on railway tracks at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp, in Oswiecim on April 19, as they take part in the annual "March of the Living". The annual March of the Living, which commemorates the six million Jews killed during the Holocaust, was launched in 1988, drawing thousands of people from around the world, including Jewish youths and elderly Holocaust survivors.
April 19th, 2012
05:51 PM ET
Obama issues statement honoring Holocaust Remembrance Day President Barack Obama released a statement on Thursday honoring the Jewish day of remembrance Yom HaShoah. Hebrew for "destruction," the word "shoah" is often used in reference to the Holocaust, and Yom HaShoah is the day on the Jewish calendar commemorating the 6 million Jews who died at the hands of Nazi Germany. "On this Holocaust Remembrance Day, I join people of all faiths across the United States, in Israel and around the world in paying tribute to all who suffered in the Shoah - a horrific crime without parallel in human history," Obama said in his statement. Yom HaShoa, held on the 27th of Nisan on the Jewish calendar, also honors the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943. "We stand in awe of those who fought back, in the ghettos and in the camps, against overwhelming odds. And in the year of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Raoul Wallenberg, we are humbled by the rescuers who refused to be bystanders to evil," Obama said, referencing the Swedish businessman and diplomat credited with standing up to the fascist Hungarian government while stationed in Budapest. As Jews around the world hold vigils and name-reading ceremonies in memory of those who died, Obama called on everyone to do more to ensure that the phrase "never again" is more than just an "empty slogan." "As individuals, we must guard against indifference in our hearts and recognize ourselves in our fellow human beings," Obama said. "As societies, we must stand against ignorance and anti-Semitism, including those who try to deny the Holocaust. As nations, we must do everything we can to prevent and end atrocities in our time." The president said he will visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on Monday in an effort to advance these goals.  President Obama accepts a jersey and helmet from the University of Alabama football team and its coach Nick Saban (left).
April 19th, 2012
04:13 PM ET
Obama: "I'm probably going to need a helmet" before November electionPresident Obama welcomed the Alabama Crimson Tide football team to the South Lawn on Thursday to congratulate the program on its 2011 BCS National Championship. This is the second time in three years that Alabama Coach Nick Saban has brought his team to the White House, and given the team’s recent success Obama ended his remarks by saying, “who knows, maybe I’ll see you again.” As is customary, Saban and his players presented the president with an Alabama football jersey, but this time the team also gave the president a helmet. “We certainly don’t want to be responsible for any head injuries that the president might have,” Saban joked. After accepting the gifts, Obama looked down at Alabama Republican Sen. Richard Shelby who was seated in the front row and replied with a smile, “I was mentioning yesterday, I’m probably going to need a helmet between now and November. What do you think Shelby?”  University of Tennesee women's basketball Coach Pat Summitt will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
April 19th, 2012
03:16 PM ET
POTUS honors Tennessee's Pat Summitt Calling her an "inspiration" President Barack Obama Thursday announced former University of Tennesee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. The honor comes just a day after Summitt announced she would step down as coach to Tennesee's Lady Vols and eight months after revealing her diagnosis with early-onset Alzheimer's.
Coach Summitt took her Lady Vols to eight national championships and 1,098 wins–the most in major-college basketball history. The Presidential Medal of freedom is presented to individuals "who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors," according to a White House statement. Coach Summitt's work off the basketball court, on behalf of Alzheimer's patients through the Pat Summitt Foundation, was also recognized in Thursday's White House announcement. Other recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom will be announced in the coming weeks according to the White House. A ceremony honoring them will take place sometime later this year at the White House.  President Barack Obama sits on the famed Rosa Parks bus at the Henry Ford Museum following an event in Dearborn, Michigan, April 18, 2012. (photo credit: White House photo, Pete Souza)
April 19th, 2012
12:29 PM ET
POTUS sits on bus made famous by Rosa ParksJust before speaking at a fundraiser in Detroit Wednesday, President Barack Obama was able to visit and reflect upon an iconic piece of civil rights history. The president told supporters at the Henry Ford Museum he was able to sit briefly on the bus made famous by activist Rosa Parks whose refusal to move from her seat for a white passenger sparked the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott in 1955.
April 19th, 2012
07:56 AM ET
The Tide rolls to the White House The president will welcome the University of Alabama Crimson Tide to the White House today. He will honor their 2012 win (the 14th for the Tide) of the BCS National Championship. We're talking football here. Jay Carney will brief at 1:15pm. Expect questions on the Secret Service scandel, the GSA scandel and the new proposed XL pipeline route. Full schedule after the jump |
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