White House

Tim Willert GLENDALE -- It wasn't the first time Zainul Abedin and George W. Bush crossed paths. But last month's visit to White House was a first for Abedin, a Glendale resident who was invited to Washington, D.C. to help the president commemorate Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. "It was a great pleasure and privilege to be invited to the White House," Abedin said this week. "This was a moment of special importance for me." Abedin, a naturalized citizen who was born in Bangladesh, is chairman of the Bangladesh American Republican Assn.

Claudia Peschiutta GLENDALE -- President George W. Bush will continue his goodwill tour of lawmakers by lunching with Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Glendale) and fellow freshman congressmen today. With his first week in office drawing to a close, Bush will meet with some of the newest members in Congress at the White House. "I think he wants to establish a rapport with the members of the freshman class," Schiff said. "It's what you would call a 'charm offensive.

I would like to share a special memory of President Reagan. More than 40 years ago, my friend and neighbor, Dorothy West, was a secretary at the Hollywood Screen Actors' Guild when Reagan was president of the guild. It was at the time of the big strike, and there was to be a meeting of both factions. Dorothy had to stay and take notes, so I took care of her two children. When she returned, she said, "Ronald Reagan should be president of the United States!

Facing almost certain defeat in the Senate, the White House on Wednesday withdrew the ambassadorial nomination of Sam Fox, who contributed $50,000 to the Swift Boat veterans' controversial campaign against Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., in the 2004 presidential race. President Bush had nominated Fox, a St. Louis businessman, to be the U.S. envoy to Belgium. The withdrawal, a rare setback for the sort of nomination that normally would sail through the Senate, reflected both the muscle Democrats are exercising in Congress and the problems likely to surround any Bush appointee linked to the attacks on Kerry.

Claudia Peschiutta GLENDALE -- Teaching kids to read early on was the topic of conversation between President Bush and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Glendale) at a White House luncheon held Friday. Schiff was among the freshman representatives invited to lunch with the president, who has met with close to 100 members of Congress during his first week in office, according to a White House spokesman. "I expressed an interest in working with him on early childhood education," Schiff said of his brief conversation with Bush.

Tim Willert A Glendale trucker faces 15 years in prison after he threatened to blow up the White House, according to news reports. Norayr Avetisyan, 27, was arrested Monday in Dayton, Ohio, after he was allegedly overheard telling a fellow trucker over a citizens band radio he was carrying explosives and headed toward the White House. The trucker who overheard the CB conversation called 911. Members of the FBI task force on terrorism and U.S. Secret Service agents participated in the arrest.

The 65-foot Sierra white fir destined for the White House as the nation's official Christmas tree will first make a stop at the Autry National Center near Griffith Park, organizers announced this week. The stop will be one of many for the white fir -- scheduled to be cut down Saturday in the remote Stanislaus National Forest in Central California -- on its trek to the White House. Before the tree heads east, organizers will take it on a 20-day tour of 12 cities in California. It is just the fourth time the state has provided the "The People's Tree" since the tradition was started in 1964, according to the announcement from U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Coordinator Maria Benech.

LA CRESCENTA — A team of roughly a dozen Crescenta Valley High School seniors this week applied to host a commencement speech by President Obama. As part of its education reforms, the White House and U.S. Department of Education have offered a presidential graduation to public schools that can prove themselves a model for the nation. Winning schools will demonstrate they have robust college- and career-readying academic classes, extracurricular activities, graduation rates, daily attendance and college enrollment rates, according to the White House.

Some might call it calculated diplomacy, but President Obama’s statement Friday on the Armenian Genocide was nothing short of failure. Despite repeated pledges during his presidential campaign and statements as a U.S. senator, in which he called the 1915 genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire undeniable, Obama on Friday instead issued a carefully worded statement calling the massacre of roughly 1.5 million Armenians “one of...

Historical group presents home-restoration tips LA CRESCENTA -- The Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley will host a home-restoration presentation for the public titled "Working With Your Old House," at 7 p.m. Monday. Topics covered will include architecture basics, local examples of architectural styles, what makes good architecture and maximizing the value of an old home through remodeling, renovation and basic maintenance. The free presentation is at the Church of Religious Science, 4845 Dunsmore Ave. For more information, call 957-2968.

THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release                             April 24, 2012 REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT PRESENTATION OF THE NATIONAL TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARD East Room 10:11 A.M. EDT      THE PRESIDENT:  Wow, thank you, everybody.  (Applause.) ...

The Obama administration, which has been urging California to push through growing opposition to its bullet train project, asked Congress on Monday for nearly $35 billion in passenger rail funding over the next five years. The request in its fiscal 2013 budget includes $1 billion for next year and nearly $8 billion in 2018, a massive funding plan that faces difficult odds of getting through Congress. Last year, the Republican-controlled House and even the Democratic-led Senate slashed a similar request and left no new money for any high-speed rail project.

The 65-foot Sierra white fir destined for the White House as the nation's official Christmas tree will first make a stop at the Autry National Center near Griffith Park, organizers announced this week. The stop will be one of many for the white fir -- scheduled to be cut down Saturday in the remote Stanislaus National Forest in Central California -- on its trek to the White House. Before the tree heads east, organizers will take it on a 20-day tour of 12 cities in California. It is just the fourth time the state has provided the "The People's Tree" since the tradition was started in 1964, according to the announcement from U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Coordinator Maria Benech.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) is one of the most outspoken critics of President Obama over the White House's failure to seek congressional approval for the United States' role in air attacks on Libya. The attacks started on March 19. The War Powers Act, passed in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, requires the president to seek the approval of Congress within 60 days of committing U.S. troops to combat. White House officials have said they are meeting the separate requirement of conferring with Congress about use of the military, and the president has said repeatedly the role in Libya is limited and will not involve ground troops.

GLENDALE — The following are odds and ends from the local sports scene. GAMBURYAN READY FOR TITLE FIGHT As Manny Gamburyan enters the biggest fight of his life — tonight's clash for the World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight title against champion Jose Aldo in the main event of WEC: Aldo vs. Gamburyan — he does so as a major underdog. But one advantage he might very well have over Aldo is altitude. Granted, Aldo (17-1)

LA CRESCENTA — A team of roughly a dozen Crescenta Valley High School seniors this week applied to host a commencement speech by President Obama. As part of its education reforms, the White House and U.S. Department of Education have offered a presidential graduation to public schools that can prove themselves a model for the nation. Winning schools will demonstrate they have robust college- and career-readying academic classes, extracurricular activities, graduation rates, daily attendance and college enrollment rates, according to the White House.

Growing up, I remember the lessons I learned by observing my parents and the principles they followed handling the family’s finances: Work hard and honestly, have enough on hand for rainy days, don’t spend more than you earn, save for the future and invest wisely. I remember how credit cards were used as a convenient way to pay for purchases for which we already had the money, but never as a way to finance purchases against future income. Credit cards were always paid off at the end of each month, in full.

President Obama welcomed the Dalai Lama to the White House last week. The visit had been postponed since last year, due to concerns that it could ?trouble the waters ahead of a U.S.-China summit last fall,? according to a story that aired on KCRW-FM?s ?Which Way, L.A.? The Dalai Lama visited the White House as a religious leader, not as a statesman. The Dalai Lama also appeared alongside musician Sheryl Crow in a visit to Southern California over the weekend, where he spoke on behalf of a nonprofit organization.

UNITED STATES President Barack Obama president@whitehouse. gov www.whitehouse.gov/ president The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington, DC 20500 (202) 456-1111 Vice President Joe Biden vice_president@ whitehouse.gov www.whitehouse.gov/ vicepresident The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington, DC 20500 (202) 456-1111 Congressman Adam B. Schiff (D-29th District)