White House Easter Egg Roll reveals a unique presidential tradition (Photos)

Barack and Michelle Obama read “Where the Wild Things Are.”
Barack and Michelle Obama read “Where the Wild Things Are.”

Calling the moment bittersweet, President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama welcomed thousands of children and their families to the South Lawn of the White House Monday morning for the annual Easter Egg Roll.

The egg rolling began in 1878. Now the event includes storytelling, musical performances and tips from professional athletes on how to play basketball, tennis and other sports. There are even cooking demonstrations and yoga. This year, the first lady added a fun run to the mix.

“I’m going to be running around the White House with a bunch of kids and any adults who feel like they can hang,” the first lady told the crowd Monday morning as the president jokingly signaled in the background that the run wasn’t for him.

The Obamas spoke from a balcony that overlooks the lawn with their dogs, Bo and Sunny, and an Easter Bunny character at their side.

More than 35,000 people received tickets that allowed them to walk on the South Lawn of the White House, rain or shine. Fortunately, the sun broke through mid-morning after a night of scattered rain showers.

The theme of this year’s event is “Let’s celebrate.” The first lady said she wanted to celebrate families and the nation on her husband’s last Easter in office.

“It’s our diversity. It’s our values,” the first lady said. “That’s what makes us strong.”

The fun run is intended to highlight the first lady’s “Let’s Move!” initiative, which focuses on reducing childhood obesity. (AP)

Families wait for the president’s arrival.
Families wait for the president’s arrival.
The Obamas wave from the Truman Balcony of the White House.
The Obamas wave from the Truman Balcony of the White House.
President Barack Obama lifts a young girl in the air during the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday.
President Barack Obama lifts a young girl in the air during the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday.
Young children roll Easter eggs on the South Lawn of the White House during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll March 28, 2016, in Washington, D.C.
Young children roll Easter eggs on the South Lawn of the White House during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll March 28, 2016, in Washington, D.C.
Attendees at the annual egg roll.
Attendees at the annual egg roll.

Sanders wins primary caucuses in Alaska and Washington

LISA LERER,Associated Press

f63acffc96344b0f940f6a7067004c1cWASHINGTON (AP) — Bernie Sanders won Democratic presidential caucuses in Alaska and Washington state on Saturday, victories he hopes will stoke a spring comeback against the commanding front-runner, Hillary Clinton.

The Vermont senator was trying to build his enduring support among liberal activists into a three-state sweep that could help him narrow a gap of 300 delegates won in primaries by Clinton. The two Democrats were also competing in Hawaii.

While Sanders faces a steep climb to the nomination, a string of losses for Clinton would highlight persistent vulnerabilities within her own party. Sanders continues to attract tens of thousands to his rallies — drawing more than 17,000 in Seattle this week — and has collected more than $140 million from 2 million donors.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin, before voters in Hawaii gathered for their caucuses, Sanders cast his wins Saturday as part of a Western comeback, citing recent victories in Utah and Idaho as a sign that his campaign still had a path to the nomination.

“We just won the state of Washington. That is what momentum is about,” he said. “Don’t let anybody tell you we can’t win the nomination or we can’t win the general election. We’re going to do both of those things.”

Most of his dozen primary-season wins have been in states with largely white populations and in caucus contests, which tend to attract the most active liberal Democrats. He’s heavily favored by younger voters, who were a key part of the coalition that boosted Obama to victory twice.

In Spokane, Washington, a huge line of caucus attendees snaked around a high school parking lot on Saturday morning.

“I think one of the biggest things is free tuition for students,” said Savannah Dills, 24, a college student who supports Sanders. “And getting big money out of politics. He’s not paid for by billionaires.”

Retiree Dan McLay, 64, attended the caucus in a hard-hat, which he joked he needed because he was one of the relatively few Clinton supporters in the big crowd.

“Look at this thing in Brussels,” McLay said, referring to the deadly bombings. “We need a real experienced leader.”

For Sanders, turning passionate support into the party nomination has grown increasingly difficult.

Clinton had a delegate lead of 1,223 to 920 over Sanders going into Saturday’s contests, according to an Associated Press analysis, an advantage that expanded to 1,692-949 once the superdelegates, or party officials who can back either candidate, were included.

Based on that count, Sanders still needs to win 58 percent of the remaining delegates from primaries and caucuses to have a majority of those delegates by June’s end.

His bar is even higher when the party officials are considered. He needs to win more than 67 percent of the remaining delegates overall — from primaries, caucuses and the ranks of uncommitted superdelegates — to prevail.

Because Democrats allocate their delegates on a proportional basis, meaning that the popular vote loser can still pick up a share, his Saturday victories netted Sanders a gain of at least 27 delegates to at least five for Clinton.

Sanders spent several days campaigning in Washington state and dispatched his wife, Jane, to Alaska and Hawaii. Clinton campaigned in Washington state for one-day and did not send any high-profile supporters to either of the other two states.

Clinton has been looking past the primary contests and aiming at potential Republican challengers. In interviews, rallies and speeches this week, she largely focused on Tuesday’s deadly attacks in Brussels, casting GOP front-runner Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz as unqualified to deal with complicated international threats.

Her campaign sees the April 19 contest in New York as an important one, not just because of the rich delegate prize but because losing to Sanders in a state she represented in the Senate would be a psychological blow. She hopes to lock up an even larger share of delegates in five Northeastern contests a week later.

____

Associated Press writers Hope Yen in Washington, Nicholas K. Geranios in Spokane, Walker Orenstein in Seattle, Rachel La Corte in Olympia and Becky Bohrer in Juneau contributed to this report.

Michelle Obama’s Final Look in Argentina is Tory Burch – Stunning Photos

  |  Racked

Michelle Wearing Her Fall '16 Tory Burch Dress
Michelle Wearing Her Fall ’16 Tory Burch Dress

Today, Michelle Obama wore a purple paisley Tory Burch dress to bid goodbye to Argentina. The First Lady wore the designer’s “Tovero” dress from the fall 2016 collection while departing from the Buenos Aires airport.

For those keeping track at home, Michelle ended up wearing two Tory Burch dresses over the course of her trip to Cuba and Argentina. She went to a baseball game in Cuba while wearing a silk Tory Burch wrap dress.

Other First Lady wardrobe highlights from the trip include a floral Naeem Khan dress, a bold Narciso Rodriguez dress, a printed Carolina Herrera dress, and a shimmery metallic look for tango dancing.

Shop-Malia-Sasha-Michelle-Sophisticated-Travel-Looks

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Obama Family's Athleisure Style in the Andes Mountains
The Obama Family’s Athleisure Style in the Andes Mountains

Sasha-wore-colorful-sneakers-leggings-completing-her-long

 

 

 

 

 

Coke-mule JetBlue beauty staying in jail until she’s sent to California

She’s grounded.

The alleged coke-mule flight attendant from Queenswho fled a Los Angeles airport just before workers spotted $3 million in blow in her luggage will stay jailed until she’s shipped to California for an April appearance, court papers show.

California federal Judge Andre Birotte Jr. ordered that Marsha Gay Reynolds, 31, remain locked up until she faces an arraignment for drug raps there April 7.

Brooklyn Judge Viktor Pohorelsky had granted the former beauty queen and NYU track standout a $500,000 bail package Thursday but stayed the ruling until California authorities could weigh in.

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Marsha Gay Reynolds

Reynolds had abruptly kicked off her Gucci shoes and fled LAX Airport last week after she was selected for a random screening. Agents discovered a stunning cache of cocaine in her bags — almost 70 pounds of blow worth roughly $3 million, prosecutors said.

Reynolds was later able to hop on another flight home to New York because she hadn’t been ID’d as the suspect at the time. She eventually turned herself in before appearing in Brooklyn federal court Thursday.

“The defendant is ordered to remain in custody and await transport by the United States Marshal to the Central District of California,” Birotte ruled.

Brooklyn prosecutors — who opposed a bail package — revealed in court that Reynolds had an accomplice who remains at large.

A family representative defended her outside of court, portraying her as a hard-working nursing student and flight attendant who had no prior contact with the law.

But Brooklyn prosecutors said in court Thursday, without elaborating, that she had transported cocaine on prior occasions.

HOW and WHEN it ALL STARTED

Reynolds dropped two suitcases full of cocaine at Los Angeles International Airport — along with her Gucci shoes — before fleeing in panic turned herself in to authorities in New York on Wednesday, sources said. She was arrested by Drug Enforcement Administration agents, sources said.

The JetBlue flight attendant, a former beauty pageant contestant, was randomly stopped last Friday at a checkpoint for airline workers. She kicked off her Gucci heels, dropped the drugs and bolted, according to sources. She then boarded a flight to New York and went to her Queens apartment before holing up in the Hilton Hotel near JFK Airport, the sources said.

The bundles of drugs that authorities allegedly found in the bags left behind by flight attendant Marsha Gay Reynolds.
The bundles of drugs that authorities allegedly found in the bags left behind by flight attendant Marsha Gay Reynolds.

The nearly 70 pounds of cocaine found stashed in her suitcases was estimated to be worth $2 million. During the LAX incident, Reynolds was escorted to the front of the screening area and apparently became alarmed when she realized she’d be caught. After walking about 15 feet with her carry-on bags, the former NYU track star threw them down and made a run for it, leaving behind the dope.

“She kicked her high heels off and left her shoes and bag behind,” said Marshall McClain of the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association. “She knew if she dropped both of them, she’d be able to run away more quickly,” he explained. “She was then able to high-foot it out of the terminal, down an up escalator while barefoot, where we assume she got into a car and took off to parts unknown.” In her bags, TSA agents found clothes, Trojan Magnum condoms and 68.49 pounds of cocaine wrapped in green saran wrap and labeled “BIG Ranch,” cops said. She also left behind her leather, size-8½ Gucci shoes.lax_drugs1

But because TSA agents did not get her name, Reynolds may have been able to board her red-eye flight to La Guardia on Friday night. After being apprehended in New York, she was charged in a criminal complaint filed in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Reynolds is listed as a member of NYU’s 2004 women’s track and field team, according to the school’s website. She was also a runner-up in the 2007 Miss Jamaica Universe pageant, according to the Jamaica Gleaner. Reynolds was awaiting arraignment at Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday night.

What’s in your briefcase? Putin ribs Kerry ahead of Syria talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with US Secretary of State John Kerry during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, on March 24, 2016 (AFP Photo/Alexander Nemenov)
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with US Secretary of State John Kerry during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, on March 24, 2016 (AFP Photo/Alexander Nemenov)

Moscow (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday took a keen interest in the briefcase of visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry, wondering aloud if it perhaps contained cash intended to sway his opinion on Syria’s future.

“When I saw you getting off the plane and carrying your things, I got a bit upset,” Putin began as the pair met for talks at the Kremlin where Kerry is set to try and shift the Russian leader’s position on Syria’s Bashar al-Assad.

“On the one hand, it’s very democratic, on the other hand, I thought, things must be getting bad in the US,” Putin said with a small laugh, “if there is nobody to help the Secretary of State with his briefcase”.

“One would think it’s all going well with the economy, no significant layoffs — but then I thought, maybe there was something in that briefcase that you could not entrust to anyone, something valuable.

“It must be money you brought, to better haggle with us on key issues,” Putin joked, looking across the table at a smiling Kerry.

“When we have a private moment, I’ll show you what’s in my briefcase,” Kerry replied.

“I think you will be surprised, pleasantly.”

Quizzed by a journalist from a Russian state channel on the contents of the briefcase later at a press conference, Kerry made it clear the matter was not for public scrutiny.

“That’s a secret between President Putin and me,” he teased.

BP: The US will be energy independent in 5 years

BP_The_US_will_be-1c3ada13a10ada100bbad0f7f73a5906

By Bob Bryan  |  Business Insider

As a global supply glut continues to keep oil prices at their lowest levels in years, it seems that everyone is focused on the future of the commodity.

In its 2016 energy outlook, the oil giant BP predicted that the US would be “energy self-sufficient” by 2021 and oil self-sufficient by 2030.

Oil is used for products beyond just power, such as plastics, which is why oil independence would come shortly after energy independence.

According to the report, much of this independence will be a function of a global shift, an adoption of more renewable energy, and the growing impact of shale drilling.

“The big winner in the ‘faster transition’ case is renewables, with an almost six-fold increase in output (nearly 9% p.a.) and a 15% share of energy by 2035,” the report said. “The rate at which renewables gain share from 2020 to 2035 matches oil’s gain over the 15 years of 1908-23 — years that included the Texas oil boom, the discovery of oil in the Middle East, the British Navy switching to oil, and the Model T Ford starting mass motorization.”

Despite this, BP said that oil consumption would be driven mostly by emerging economies and that natural-gas consumption would continue to climb.

The company also made numerous other huge predictions, including:

  • “EU energy demand in 2035 is back to where it was 50 years earlier, despite the economy being almost 150% bigger.”
  • “By 2035 coal accounts for less than 25% of primary energy, its lowest share since the industrial revolution.”
  • Renewables account for a quarter of global primary energy growth out to 2035, and over a third of the growth in global power generation.
  • “China adds more renewable power over the Outlook than the EU and US combined.”

BP said the biggest danger to the downside for its outlook is slower-than-expected gross-domestic-product growth; and to the upside it suggested the possibility of a quicker-than-projected adoption of renewable energy.

Obama Wows Argentina With the Tango

 

obama tango
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Less than 24 hours in Buenos Aires, and Barack Obama is already doing the tango.

The president and first lady Michelle Obama were attending a state dinner in the Argentine capital Wednesday evening when they were pulled abruptly onto the dance floor on by a pair of tango dancers hired to provide the entertainment.

At first, the woman in the shimmering gold dress seemed to content to twirl with her partner, but then she made a beeline for the president and beckoned him to the floor.

“No, no,” Obama’s face seemed to say, as he declined her invitation not once but multiple times. But the dancer wasn’t to be deterred.

She got her way, and Obama was soon sashaying across the floor. Flawless it was not, but the president eventually caught on. By the time the music slowed to a halt, the two were in lockstep, arms high in the air as an audience of hundreds looked on.

Mrs. Obama got in on the action, too, twisting back and forth with the black-clad male dancer.

The unexpected moment came at the end of a candlelit state dinner that Argentine President Mauricio Macri hosted for the Obamas. It has been nearly 20 years since a U.S. president has made a formal state visit to Argentina.

Elegant, slow-moving and sensuous, the tango has its roots in Argentina’s capital, which hosts annual tango festivals. One of the most popular flavors of ballroom dance, it quickly spread from Buenos Aires to other parts of Latin America and beyond.

Toasting his host, Obama quoted Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges: “And now, I think that in this country, we have a certain right to hope.”

Obama added a few reflections of his own.

“This is a new beginning,” he said.

Why #NeverTrump Will Never Work

By Matt Bai Yahoo Columnist
By Matt Bai
Yahoo Columnist

We all had a good laugh at Chris Christie’s expense after the New Hampshire primary, when he decided to get behind Donald Trump in exchange for dibs on an especially comfortable chaise longue at Mar-a-Lago. Next to the kinds of craven endorsements we’re seeing now, though, Christie might be in line for a Profile in Courage award.

Just yesterday, Jeb Bush followed his pal Lindsey Graham by coming out in support of Ted Cruz, although apparently he didn’t think he could get through an actual announcement without falling to his knees and rending his clothes in self-loathing, so he released a tepid statement instead. Bush described Cruz as a “consistent, principled conservative who has demonstrated the ability to appeal to voters,” by which he meant that Cruz is not Trump and that’s all there is to say.

This followed the bizarre contortions of Mitt Romney, whose state-by-state endorsement strategy has been so convoluted that I’d suggest getting a blank NCAA bracket if you really want to keep up.

All of which gets to why this #NeverTrump movement among governing Republicans might more aptly be called #NeverGoingtoHappen instead.

That’s not to say I don’t understand the strategy here, because I do. The singular goal is to keep Trump from amassing the 1,237 delegates he needs to clinch the nomination, thus hurtling the party into an open convention for the first time in 40 years.

Bush has apparently decided that this can happen only if it’s a two-man race, even though he almost certainly believes that John Kasich is the only candidate left who has any business being in the Oval Office. So he and other leading Republicans are going to close ranks around Cruz and hope they can get control of the process once the voters are finished making a holy mess of it.

(It’s interesting that Jeb has not been joined in this cause by his brother George W., who seems to have decided that he would sooner paint Trump’s presidential portrait himself than endorse the fellow Texan who once worked for him. That ought to tell you something.)

Romney’s strategy is more elaborate. Like many of you who probably also assumed you were watching an old “Bewitched” rerun on daytime TV until you realized that Darrin had just way too many lines, I watched Romney’s speech attacking Trump a few weeks back, and I have to say I was impressed. Where Trump was vulgar and insecure, Romney was cutting and confident, reminding us that titans of business don’t hawk bad steaks in late-night infomercials.

The goal of the #NeverTrump movement is to keep Donald Trump from amassing the 1,237 delegates he needs to clinch the nomination. (Photo: George Frey/Getty Images)
The goal of the #NeverTrump movement is to keep Donald Trump from amassing the 1,237 delegates he needs to clinch the nomination. (Photo: George Frey/Getty Images)

It seemed possible that Romney, in his advancing years, had at last found within himself some hidden reserve of political steel.

But no – turns out some distant race of extraterrestrials had actually snatched Romney’s body for a day so they could deliver a message about the grave danger of a Trump presidency, and when they were done they dropped the old Romney right back into our laps.

Romney endorsed Kasich in Ohio, noting that he was the “only guy with a real track record.” But then he turned around and announced he was voting for Cruz in Utah anyway – although he wasn’t actually endorsing Cruz, just so nobody gets confused. Right.

If you step back for a second, you can see why Romney might have some interest in getting to a convention with the delegates divided as many ways as possible. Mitt made his fortune as the consummate turnaround guy — the bloodless analyst who swoops into a company in crisis and fires all the incompetent executives.

What is the Republican Party now if not an organization in crisis? If you were Romney, why wouldn’t you look at the disaster looming and recognize a ripe takeover opportunity?

But here’s the problem for Bush and Romney and the whole #NeverTrump thing generally: You don’t win campaigns solely by running against somebody else. You have to give voters something — or someone — that they can be for.

This, of course, was Romney’s essential flaw as a nominee four years ago. He effectively ran as the #NeverObama candidate, avoiding anything that could have been misconstrued for a declarative worldview or agenda. He thought it was enough to not be Barack Obama and not be objectionable, and he was wrong.

The Kardashian Sisters Just Got Sued for $180 Million

arrives at Cosmopolitan Magazine's 50th Birthday Celebration at Ysabel on October 12, 2015 in West Hollywood, California.
arrives at Cosmopolitan Magazine’s 50th Birthday Celebration at Ysabel on October 12, 2015 in West Hollywood, California.

The Sisters Kardashian are being sued for $180 million and being accused of fraud by a disgruntled investor in their makeup line.

Hillair Capital Management is claiming that shortly after it invested in the makeup line, which was struggling after its distributor folded in 2014, the sisters began looking for a new partner to buy out the Hillair stake, reports the New York Daily News. The suit lays this out bluntly:

In short: the Kardashians wanted a better, more lucrative deal than they had struck with Hillair after the money to continue the line was already committed, and they used their ability to withhold their support of the line to attempt to force Hillair into a buyout of its interest.

It further alleges that Khloe Kardashian publicly disparaged the products in the line, obviously bad for the investment.

Lawyers for the Kardashians shot back, claiming the suit “is an obvious attempt to create leverage by hedge fund operators who took over the Kardashians’ cosmetics brand.”

Requests for comment from both Fielding and the Kardashians were not immediately returned.

The suit was filed in Los Angeles.

Michelle Obama Is Continuing Her Winning Style Streak in Argentina

Michelle Obama stepped off the plane in a modest but bold printed dress by Narciso Rodriguez.
Michelle Obama stepped off the plane in a modest but bold printed dress by Narciso Rodriguez.

 

 

| POPSUGAR

From stepping off a plane to sitting front row at a ball game, Michelle Obama never fails to impress us with her outfit. The first lady isn’t afraid to take fashion risks, rocking bright colors and loud prints at major events, so it’s no surprise that after a stylish trip to Cuba, she’s continuing her fashion streak as she and her family touch down in Argentina.

Just from her latest look alone, Michelle offers a few great styling tips. For starters, you can find a balance between polished and bold: just opt for a dark, solid-colored dress with a simple yet interesting graphic, much like her Narciso Rodriguez number. Second, silver heels pair well with everything, completing colorful ensembles by acting as a neutral.

Read on to see Michelle’s travel outfit in full, then shop a similar dress ahead.

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