 Vice President Joe Biden waves from the doorway of Air Force Two after his arrival at the airport in Ankara on December 1, 2011.
April 20th, 2012
06:02 PM ET
VP Biden's plane hits birds upon landing in California Air Force Two, a modified Boeing 757 airplane carrying Vice President Joe Biden, was involved in a “bird strike” while landing in Santa Barbara, CA on Thursday evening, an Air Force spokesman confirmed to CNN. “The plane landed safely as a precautionary measure and is currently being inspected to assess if there is any damage,” said Lieutenant Gregg Johnson, a public affairs officer for the Air Force’s 89th Airlift Wing – the unit responsible for managing presidential air travel. Lt. Johnson assured CNN that the strike did not cause an emergency landing and that all passengers, including the vice president, were safe at all times. “The Vice President left Santa Barbara this afternoon as scheduled, aboard an alternate U.S. Air Force aircraft,” a spokesperson in the Office of the Vice President said, confirming the bird strike. While the vice president’s original airplane is being inspected, Lt. Johnson said the Air Force sent a C-20 – also known as a Gulfstream 3 – from Colorado Springs to pick up Biden and his travelling party and carry them back to Delaware as scheduled.  President Barack Obama signs a proclamation to designate federal lands within the former Fort Ord as a national monument in the Oval Office of the White House April 20, 2012 in Washington, DC.
April 20th, 2012
04:16 PM ET
Obama designates Fort Ord as National MonumentCalifornia outdoor enthusiasts take heart. On Friday President Barack Obama signed a proclamation designating Fort Ord on California’s Monterey Peninsula as a National Monument under the Antiquities Act. “Fort Ord’s dramatic landscape lives in the memories of thousands of veterans as their first taste of Army life, as a final stop before deploying to war, or as a home base during their military career. This national monument will not only protect one of the crown jewels of California’s coast, but will also honor the heroism and dedication of men and women who served our nation and fought in the major conflicts of the 20th century,” Obama said in a statement. By 2019, the Bureau of Land Management – a division of the Department of the Interior – will more than double the approximately 7,200 acres of land in the Fort Ord area that is already under its management authority. The transfer of additional land from the Army was scheduled under an existing base closure agreement and will come after the completion of an ongoing clean-up operation. By designating the land as a national monument, it enters the BLM’s National Land Conservation System, which includes 27 million acres of protected federal land. On a conference call with reporters Friday, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and BLM Director Bob Abbey outlined some of the broader benefits of today’s proclamation. FULL POST 
April 20th, 2012
10:02 AM ET
Obama to talk student loans with Jimmy Fallon (CNN) – President Obama is heading back to late night television next week, set to appear on comedian Jimmy Fallon’s show as part of a week-long push to pressure congressional Republicans to renew a measure keeping student loan rates at 3.4 percent. News of Obama’s appearance on the popular late night comedy show came via Twitter from both Fallon himself and White House Communications Director Dan Pfieffer Friday morning: [tweet https://twitter.com/#!/jimmyfallon/status/193315044564545536%5D [tweet https://twitter.com/#!/pfeiffer44/status/193329462199320577%5D It is the president’s first appearance on the show, though First Lady Michelle Obama was a guest in February. 
April 20th, 2012
07:29 AM ET
POTUS' Day Ahead: Welcoming Wounded WarriorsThe president is largely laying low Friday, save for an afternoon event on the South Lawn to greet participants in the sixth annual Wounded Warriors Soldier's ride. According to the White House, the event aims to help :Wounded Warriors restore their physical and emotional well-being" and raise "awareness of our nation’s Wounded Warriors who battle the physical and psychological damages of war." |
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