Since 1947, the chairman of the National Turkey Federation has presented a turkey to the President. Each Thanksgiving, the President “pardons” that turkey, ensuring that the bird gets to spend the rest of its days living on a farm in Virginia. Today, President Obama celebrated the 67th anniversary of the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation by pardoning two 20-week old, 48-pound turkeys. And just like last year, the American public decided which of the two turkeys – Mac or Cheese – would become the National Thanksgiving Turkey by casting a vote for #TeamMac or #TeamCheese online.
Wednesday, 26 November 2014
This Day in History: Carving Out a Piece of Thanksgiving History
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When was Thanksgiving officially established at the White House?
It all started on September 28, 1789, when the first Federal Congress asked President George Washington to declare a national day of thanksgiving. Just a few days later, George Washington issued a Presidential Proclamation declaring Thursday, November 26th as a national day of “public thanksgiving.”
However, it wasn’t until 1863 -- when President Abraham Lincoln declared that the last Thursday of November be marked as Thanksgiving -- that the holiday emerged as a national holiday.
But it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without a little gravy mixed in with American history, right?
Five Things to Know About How President Obama’s Executive Action Impacts Undocumented Immigrants
Last week, the President took action to fix as much of our broken immigration system as possible within the scope of his existing legal authority. The President’s Immigration Accountability Executive Actions are an important step to fix our broken immigration system. Millions of undocumented immigrants who live in the shadows want to play by the rules, pay their fair share of taxes, and get right with the law. The President is taking action to fix as much of the problem as he can, while continuing to work with Congress to pass a comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform bill.
The President has been clear that he can’t fix the immigration system entirely on his own; whatever action he takes will not be a substitute for long-lasting solutions that only comprehensive immigration legislation can provide.
Here are the five things that you should know about the President’s initiatives impacting undocumented immigrants in the United States.
Being Biden Vol. 17: Standing with Ukraine
The audio series Being Biden is an opportunity for the Vice President to give you a window into his daily life, and share some of his most memorable experiences.
In this episode, Vice President Biden talks about what it was like on his recent trip to Ukraine to visit a memorial that honored those who were killed during protests in Kyiv last year. The woman with the Vice President is reporter and activist Myroslava Gongadze, who lost her husband more than a decade ago because he spoke out against a then-undemocratic government. Today, she stands with those calling for a free, whole, and prosperous Ukraine. Listen to this edition of Being Biden:
Weapons seized from Assir follower in south Lebanon
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Hezbollah, Future talks to regulate divisions, hold truce
BEIRUT: The proposed dialogue between Hezbollah and Future Movement will be aimed at maintaining the existing political truce and coexistence through Prime Minister Tammam Salam’s national interest government, despite sharp divisions over internal and regional issues, Al-Liwaa newspaper said Wednesday.
The paper quoted an unnamed March 14 lawmaker as saying that Speaker Nabih Berri, a driving force behind the dialogue, had asked Future Movement to propose an agenda for the talks which he would relay to Hezbollah’s leadership.
The lawmaker said at least four key items would figure on the agenda, including the preservation of the existing truce and relative understanding over nonpolitical internal affairs, including social and economic issues.
Another item would be the discussion of the electoral law with the aim of achieving agreement over the best formula to be passed in Parliament, the source said.
Agreement on a conciliatory presidential candidate, as both parties contend that the persisting presidential vacuum is harmful for all, and on the post-presidential election phase and on the formation of a new government which could be headed by Future chief former Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Big hopes are being pinned on the upcoming dialogue, which is expected to ease internal tensions. The Future bloc expressed hope after a meeting Tuesday that the proposed dialogue would lead to a “national settlement and agreement on the next president.”
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai applauded the move, describing it as the start of exiting from the dark tunnel.
Hariri is expected to outline the Future Movement’s guidelines for dialogue with Hezbollah Thursday on Marcel Ghanem’s leading TV talk show, Kalam Al Nas.