U.S. intel didn't join American to Mumbai attacks

White House officials said Monday that U.S. aptitude did not connect an American man to the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks he later pleaded guilty to helping plot. Officials are expected to soon release the findings of an investigation into what the intelligence community knew about David Headley. The White House said President Barack Obama first wanted to concise India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the findings during his three-day visit here.
Ben Rhodes, delegate national security director for strategic communications, said Monday that while the U.S. had information about Headley, that information was not connected to the planning of the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people."What we have is various different kinds of information about David Headley that, again, weren't specific to a particular plot in India," said Rhodes, adding that much of the information was based on doubts various people had about Headley.
Headley pleaded guilty in U.S. central court to laying the groundwork for the attacks. He told Indian interrogators in June that Pakistani intelligence officers were deeply intertwined with Lashkar-e-Taiba, the group blamed in the attack, Headley was born in the United States but spent most of his childhood in Pakistan, moving back to America as a teenager to be with his mother after his parents split He joined Lashkar-e-Taiba in 2001 after hearing a lecture by the group's leader, Hafeez Saeed, on the need for holy war.
Under a deal with prosecutors in the United States, Headley will not face execution if he continues to assist with their terrorism investigation. He could face up to life in prison and a $3 million fine when he's sentenced. As part of the plea bargain, the U.S. government agreed not to transfer him to India, Pakistan or Denmark for the charges for which he has admitted guilt.

History of White House

For more than 200 years, the White House has been more than just the home of the Presidents and their families. Throughout the world, it is recognized as the symbol of the President, of the President's administration, and of the United States.

About the White House Building

For two hundred years, the White House has stood as a symbol of the Presidency, the United States government, and the American people. Its history, and the history of the nation's capital, began when the President George Washington signed an Act of Congress in the December of 1790 declaring that the federal government would reside in a district "not exceeding ten miles square…on the river Potomac." President Washington, together with the city planner Pierre L’Enfant, chose the site for the new residence, which is now 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. As preparations began for the new federal city, a competition was held to find a builder of the "President’s House." Nine proposals were submitted, and Irish-born architect James Hoban won a gold medal for his practical and handsome design.

Construction began when the first cornerstone was laid in the October of 1792. Although President Washington oversaw the construction of the house, he never lived in it. It was not until 1800, when the White House was nearly completed, that its first residents, President John Adams and his wife, Abigail, moved in. Since that time, each President has made his own changes and the additions. The White House is, after all, the President’s private home. It is also the only private residence of a head of state that is open to the public, free of charge.

The White House has a unique and fascinating history. It survived a fire at the hands of the British in 1814 (during the war of 1812) and another fire in the West Wing in 1929, while Herbert Hoover was President. Throughout much of Harry S. Truman’s presidency, the interior of the house, with the exception of the third floor, was completely gutted and renovated while the Trumans lived at Blair House, right across Pennsylvania Avenue. Nonetheless, the exterior stone walls are those first put in place when the White House was constructed two centuries ago.

Presidents can express their individual style in how they decorate some parts of the house and in how they receive the public during their stay. Thomas Jefferson held the first Inaugural open house in 1805. Many of those who attended the swearing-in ceremony at the U.S. Capitol simply followed him home, where he greeted them in the Blue Room. President Jefferson also opened the house for public tours, and it has remained open, except during wartime, ever since. In addition, he welcomed visitors to annual receptions on New Year’s Day and on the Fourth of July. In 1829, a horde of 20,000 Inaugural callers forced President Andrew Jackson to flee to the safety of a hotel while, on the lawn, aides filled washtubs with orange juice and whiskey to lure the mob out of the mud-tracked White House.

After Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, Inaugural crowds became far too large for the White House to accommodate them comfortably. However, not until Grover Cleveland’s first presidency did this unsafe practice change. He held a presidential review of the troops from a flag-draped grandstand built in front of the White House. This procession evolved into the official Inaugural parade we know today. Receptions on New Year’s Day and the Fourth of July continued to be held until the early 1930s.

• There are 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, and 6 levels in the Residence. There are also 412 doors, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces, 8 staircases, and 3 elevators.
• At various times in history, the White House has been known as the "President's Palace," the "President's House," and the "Executive Mansion." President Theodore Roosevelt officially gave the White House its current name in 1901.
• Presidential Firsts while in office... President James Polk (1845-49) was the first President to have his photograph taken... President Theodore Roosevelt (1901-09) was not only the first President to ride in an automobile, but also the first President to travel outside the country when he visited Panama... President Franklin Roosevelt (1933-45) was the first President to ride in an airplane.
• With five full-time chefs, the White House kitchen is able to serve dinner to as many as 140 guests and hors d'oeuvres to more than 1,000.
• The White House requires 570 gallons of paint to cover its outside surface.
• For recreation, the White House has a variety of facilities available to its residents, including a tennis court, jogging track, swimming pool, movie theater, and bowling lane.

Notice from the President on the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Sudan

On November 3, 1997, by Executive Order 13067, the President declared a national emergency with respect to Sudan, pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706), to deal with the unusual and the extraordinary threat to the national security and the foreign policy of the United States posed by the actions and the policies of the Government of Sudan. On April 26, 2006, in Executive Order 13400, the President determined that the conflict in the Sudan's Darfur region posed an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, expanded the scope of the national emergency to deal with that threat, and ordered the blocking of property of certain persons connected to the conflict. On October 13, 2006, the President issued Executive Order 13412 to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency and to implement the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006 (Public Law 109 344).

Because the actions and policies of the Government of Sudan continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and the foreign policy of the United States, the national emergency declared on November 3, 1997, as expanded on April 26, 2006, and with respect to which the additional steps were taken on October 13, 2006, must continue in the effect beyond November 3, 2010. Therefore, consistent with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency with respect to Sudan.

No decision up till now on Obama Golden Temple visit

U.S. President Barack Obama has canceled a visit to The Golden Temple in Amritsar because of a dispute over helmet may be premature, the White House said on Wednesday. We pick sites on foreign trips based on what the president needs to accomplish,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters traveling on Air Force One. Obama had been expected to visit the Golden Temple in northern India, a pilgrimage site for Sikhs, during his tour of the country next month. But Indian media reports said Obama’s handlers balked at the idea of the U.S. president wearing a headscarf or skullcap while touring the site.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is a Sikh. Gibbs said Obama’s final journey during his India trip had yet to be finalized, but he expected it would be in the course of the next week.“It’s a big country and we’d love to spend a lot more than the three allotted days we have in India,”

Obama votes truant

President Obama filled out his absentee vote for the midterm election in Illinois from the White House West Wing, according to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. Gibbs said he voted for Democratic nominee Alexi Giannoulias, who is in a tough race against Republican Mark Kirk for the president's former Senate seat. He said the president also voted for Illinois Gov.

"I know who he voted for for Governor and council in Illinois – the two Democratic candidates who I believe will win," Gibbs said. Obama made two trips to Chicago this year to increase money for Giannoulias, and first lady Michelle Obama recently campaigned for him. On Saturday, the president will headline a public meeting in Chicago as part of a multi-state push for Democrats leading up to the Nov. 2 election. The first lady took advantage of her home state's early voting and cast her vote when she stopped in Chicago during a Midwestern campaign swing two weeks ago.

Republican Carly Fiorina Says White House Economic statement on Women and Jobs is 'All About Election Year Politics'

President Obama pushed the argument that his administration and Democrats normally are better for women and the economy. Women have made such enormous strides that they now constitute half of the workforce, Women voters normally vote in greater numbers for Democrats, but the latest ABC News-Washington Post poll shows women separated almost evenly in the generic ballot, with 47% favoring the Democrat, 44% for the Republican.

Four years ago, women favored Democrats by 12 percentage points in the midterm elections. Earlier today White House economists issued a report on "Jobs and Economic Security for America's women"Coming the same day the president makes a movement swing to help two embattled Democratic women senators with their job security, I have no doubt that this is all about election year politics,” Fiorina told ABC News of the National Economic Council report. The president will meeting for Boxer tomorrow in Los Angeles; today was all about Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who won as the so-called "mother in tennis shoes" in the year of the woman, 1992.

Obama Administration to Focus More on Hispanic success

President Barack Obama has expressed his wish to have his government focus more on the welfare and improvement of Hispanic education. The President said this on Tuesday in the White House as he signed a crucial executive order that would do exactly that. Obama was quoted as saying that an improvement on education would aid the United States in competing in the global economy that is growing everyday.

Through the order, communities will be distribution their best practices while strengthening public-private types of partnerships while ensuring federal programs would meet the requirements of adult Latinos and youths. The order was also setting to establish a working group for the whole government as well as a separated presidential advisory type of commission. The executive order signing however was seen as very crucial as the midterm elections draws near, with the president counting heavily on the Hispanic vote for Democrats come Nov 2