El Servicio Secreto detuvo a un hombre que según testigos oculares estaba tratando de volar algún tipo de dispositivo aéreo a control remoto sobre la cerca de la Casa Blanca.
Este es el segundo incidente con 'drones' en la Casa Blanca este año. Hace cuatro meses otro hombre – un empleado de la agencia de inteligencia de Estados Unidos quien dijo que había bebido la noche anterior – perdió el control de un avión no tripulado que había estado volando alrededor de su apartamento.
When I entered Ms. Hefty's fifth-grade class at Punahou School in the fall of 1971, I was just a kid with a funny name in a new school, feeling a little out of place, hoping to fit in like anyone else.
The first time she called on me, I wished she hadn't. In fact, I wished I were just about anywhere else but at that desk, in that room of children staring at me.
But over the course of that year, Ms. Hefty taught me that I had something to say -- not in spite of my differences, but because of them. She made every single student in that class feel special.
And she reinforced that essential value of empathy that my mother and my grandparents had taught me. That is something that I carry with me every day as President.
This is the simple and undeniable power of a good teacher. This is a story that every single kid in this country, regardless of background or station in life, should be able to tell. Sharing stories like these helps underline the vital importance of fighting for that reality.
This week, we're starting that conversation, and I want you to add your voice to it.
Today, I'll honor Shanna Peeples as the 2015 National Teacher of the Year -- and I'd like you to share which teacher, like Ms. Hefty, helped shape your education.You can do that here, or by using the hashtag #ThankATeacher online.
Tomorrow, I'll travel to a local library that serves as a hub of learning in the Anacostia community of Washington, D.C. America's librarians, like our teachers, connect us to books and learning resources that help us dream big. They help ensure that we continue learning throughout our lifetime. And that's something that more kids ought to be able to access.
So while I'm at the library, I'll announce new efforts to provide popular books to millions of underprivileged children and young adults around the country and connect more students to their local libraries -- because we know that reading just 20 minutes a day can make a tremendous difference in a student's success. Online, I want you to join the conversation by sharing which book was critical to making you who you are today using the hashtag #BooksForAll. (We all have one.)
And on Friday, as I work on the commencement address I'll deliver at South Dakota's Lake Area Technical Institute next Friday, I want you to share with me how far community college has taken you. For a number of folks on our staff here, it’s taken them all the way to the White House.
This week, we're focusing on those fundamental people, places, and stories that made us who we are today. So whether it's a teacher who inspired you, a book that changed you, or a college that shaped you -- I want to hear from you. We'll be responding to and sharing your responses all week long.
I'm looking forward to hearing your stories.
KRight now, across America, people are working on big ideas. Game-changing ideas. Ideas that might sound unbelievable right now, but could become an indispensable product or service in a matter of years.
But they might not ever get a chance to make that idea into a reality. Here's why:
So many Americans have the grit and creativity of a world-class entrepreneur, but they lack the resources -- mentorship, networking, funding, training -- to bring their big ideas to fruition.
We've got to change that reality. As we work to keep our lead as the best place on the planet to start and scale big, innovative ideas, we've got to make sure more startup hotbeds emerge in every corner of America, and that those underrepresented in entrepreneurship are being tapped to fully contribute their entrepreneurial talents.
So we're looking to spur some big changes. Last week, for instance, we hosted the first-ever Tech Meetup at the White House to bring together community organizations and innovators who host weekly and monthly local innovation gatherings.
At a typical "Demo Day," entrepreneurs make pitches to prospective funders. Ours is a little different. We're inviting a diverse group of entrepreneurs from all across the country -- including those underrepresented in entrepreneurship like women and people of color -- to come here and talk about their big ideas and share the stories of their individual innovation journeys to date. These are the folks whose stories show exactly why we need to grow the pie to make sure there's opportunity for everyone in our innovation economy.
We hope you will be one of them.
Our teams are combing through the incredible submissions so far as we speak. We can't wait to hear your story, and we hope to see you here soon.
Thanks,
Megan Smith and Doug Rand
Office of Science and Technology Policy
The White House
Here's where the President is traveling for the very first time this Wednesday:
That's the Everglades -- one of our country's most unique and treasured landscapes. But Wednesday's trip is about more than touring an iconic National Park on Earth Day. Here's why:
The Everglades are flat, and they border a rising ocean. As the sea levels rise, the shorelines erode, and that salty water travels inland, threatening the aquifers supplying fresh drinking water to Floridians. That doesn't just destroy a beautiful and unique national landscape. It threatens an $82 billion state tourism economy, and drinking water for more than 7 million Americans -- more than a third of Florida's population.
This Earth Day, we're far beyond a debate about climate change's existence. We're focused on mitigating its very real effects here at home, preparing our communities where its impacts are already being felt, and leading an international effort for action. And the President has already acted in big ways. Over the last eight years, the United States has cut more carbon pollution than any other country, while creating 12.1 million private-sector jobs over 61 months; setting aside more public lands and waters than any administration in history; and releasing a Clean Power Plan to curb carbon pollution from existing power plants -- the single-biggest source of carbon pollution in the U.S.
And the President is continuing to act. Recently, he joined the Surgeon General for a powerful conversation about the real impacts of climate change on the health of our families, and this week he will be showing how tackling climate change means protecting our local businesses and economies. Taking on this issue means preventing more asthma attacks and premature deaths, billions in revenue loss, and the potential disappearance of natural habitats for our wildlife.
So we'll be spending the week showing exactly what we're doing to tackle one of our country's greatest challenges. On Monday, the White House will issue a Presidential Proclamation highlighting the impact of national parks on our local economies. On Tuesday, we'll announce four landscapes throughout the country where we'll focus our conservation and climate resilience efforts. Later in the week, we'll announce how we're investing millions in new funding to protect those parks, as well as new actions the Department of Agriculture will take in partnership with farmers, ranchers and forest land owners to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions.
That's our part. Here's what you can do: Make this real for your friends, family, and the people who follow you on social media. Because we all have a place like the Everglades -- a place we feel personally connected to and invested in. This week, there's something we can do to change the way people think about climate change by connecting it to the spaces we love and our local communities.
Share yours here, and then share it with your friends and followers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram using the hashtag #ActOnClimate.
For me, one of those places is Acadia National Park -- where you can enjoy islands, mountains, oceans, and beaches in one place. Acadia also attracts more than 2 million visits each year, providing a major boost to the local economy. I want to make sure my daughter can enjoy Acadia the way I've enjoyed it. I want her kids to be able to enjoy it, too. It's a place I'm willing to fight to protect. Share yours right now (and if you need to find one, you can do that here).
Durante la movilización campesina la cual estuvo apoyada y acompañada por organizaciones sociales y sindicales, las dirigencias nacionales del FAC: Álvaro López Ríos, líder de la UNTA; Federico Ovalle Vaquera, de CIOAC; Marco Antonio Ortiz Salas de CODUC, y Francisco Chew Plascencia de CNPA MLN,realizaron diversas proclamas en contra de las actitudes intervencionistas de Estados Unidos de Norteamérica por atentar contra las libertades de América Latina.
Así, los dirigentes de CNPA MLN y de UNTA, Francisco Chew y Álvaro López, expresaron la decepción del pueblo latinoamericano ya que, dijeron, al llegar al poder presidencial de Estados Unidos, Barack Obama, un hombre de color, se pensó en esperanza para la igualdad de las razas sin embargo sucedió todo lo contrario pues es el mandatario que más bases militares tiene en el Continente.
Durante el mitin realizado en el Monumento a la Revolución, luego de una hora de marcha por la Avenida Reforma donde confluyeron manifestantes, ciclistas y automovilistas, Álvaro López Río en su discurso anunció que la Jornada de Solidaridad con Venezuela será permanente ante “el intervencionismo norteamericano”.
El dirigente campesino, al que le antecedieron dos oradores frente a donde se encuentran los restos fúnebres del General Lázaro Cárdenas del Río, hizo un llamado a los mexicanos así como a los pueblos de Latinoamérica a la solidaridad pues no hay que olvidar que “la mayor deportación de mexicanos se ha hecho en la gestión de Obama y el mayor intervencionismo en la región, ha sido con Obama”.
Por lo antes citado, Álvaro López Ríos, en su discurso, y Francisco Chew, en entrevista, se solidarizaron con el gobierno bolivariano de Nicolás Maduro en la defensa de su patria ante lo que consideran una intención intervencionista con intereses netamente económicos ya que actualmente Venezuela es la primer nación latinoamericana con más yacimientos petroleros sin capital extranjero.
Debido a que México, a través de sus dos poderes del Estado, el Poder Ejecutivo y el Legislativo, ya entregaron, sin autorización de la sociedad, los recursos energéticos a la inversión extranjera, ambos líderes campesinos advirtieron que defenderán el nacionalismo venezolano.
En este orden de ideas, Álvaro López Ríos, líder de la UNTA y miembro del FAC, concluyórememorando la frase de José Azueta Abad, capitán segundo de la Armada de México quien al ser herido en la Segunda Invasión Norteamericana, en la ocupación al Puerto de Veracruz en 1914, rechazó la atención medica ofrecida por el Almirante estadounidense Frank Friday Fletcher, señalando que a los gringos no hay que deberles ni la vida.
Our 42 employees are the core of everything we do -- the heart of Red Hen. That is why my wife Liza and I insist on providing paid sick days, an equal and livable wage, health coverage, and other benefits that help everyone balance the work they love with the life they lead. Through these workplace policies, we know we're making our employees more secure, our bakery more productive, and our business more profitable.
It's common sense -- plain and simple. That's why I'm so excited and honored to be at the White House today as a "Champion of Change" for working families. I'll be joining President Obama, Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, and other champions of workplace policies to talk about how crucial they are to building a stronger business. This is too important of an issue for anyone to sit on the sidelines. So you should join us, too.
You can join in on the conversation using the hashtag #WorkingFamilyChamps. Whether you're an employer, an employee, a working mom or dad, or brand new to the workforce, your voice can help lift up the challenges millions of working families face and the solutions that will make a difference.
Because the bottom line is this: Employees that are happy at work perform better. Focusing on policies that make sense for working families has paid dividends for our business. There's no reason more companies across the country can't do the same thing and realize those benefits.
If you have thoughts, I'd love to hear them. I hope you'll join the conversation today.
Across the country, there are doctors working to convince people to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. It's known as "conversion therapy," but it could also be called brainwashing, or reprogramming.
Loving and compassionate parents and ministers who are trying to do the right thing are doing just the opposite. They are influenced by bad science, not grounded in fact. This so-called "conversion therapy" is harmful.
A couple of days ago, the White House came out in support of efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy. And as a transgender woman, this is especially personal to me.
No one should be forced to be someone they're not. Everyone should be valued for their authentic, true self -- who they are -- regardless of the gender with which they identify, or who they love.
I recently talked with a few other people in the Administration about why conversion therapy is so dangerous, and why it was so important for the White House to take a strong stance against the practice.
This isn't just a transgender issue or an LGBT issue -- it’s an American issue. Our nation was founded on the ideals of equality and acceptance for everyone, and forcing an individual to be someone they aren't goes directly against what this country stands for.
If we're going to grow as a society, we must move beyond the way things are, to the way things should be.
That's why I'm glad our Administration is standing up and making it clear that conversion therapy is unacceptable. Our society should allow every child and every person the freedom to be whoever they aspire to be.
And we've already seen the tragic effects of this therapy. Countless people have taken their own lives because they feel they can't fit into the standards that society demands. Others, although they haven't lost their lives, have been forced to live unfulfilled lives and to repress their feelings in the process -- feelings that come out in other ways that we can't always anticipate.
We can be better than this. We are better than this. We owe it to ourselves, and to all of the children growing up in this country, to work toward a society where everyone is accepted and treated equally.
