Michelle Obama discusses health, fitness and the new in an exclusive interveiw with Prevention magazine.
“I’m working out just as much for my girls as I am for me, because I want them to see a mother who loves them dearly, who invests in them, but who also invests in herself.”
The First Lady explains that she thinks it’s important to pass this culture down. “We have to show our young girls, I want you to be smart, I want you to be at the top of your class, I want you to play sports, I want you to sweat, I want you to run, I want you to eat right, and I want you to always do this”
Search Water Discharges. Try EPA’s new Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) search tool to look up information about pollutants released into local waterways. You can search or map water pollution by local area, watershed, company, industry sector, or pollutant.
Search for Greenhouse Gas Emissions. EPA’s new Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reporting database has data reported from over 6,700 facilities or suppliers, by facility, location, industrial sector, or the type of GHG emitted. Communities or businesses can use this information to identify or compare nearby sources of GHGs, provide information to state and local governments, and more.
A new USO supports the troops from the battle field to the recovery field at home. Sloan D. Gibson spoke to the American Forces Press Service about these changes:
“Entertainment is still a big part of the USO, … but as you think about the needs of troops and families, we’ve got to constantly adapt,” he said. “For example, we now operate nine USO centers — soon to open our 10th USO center — in Afghanistan.
“These centers are visited more than 100,000 times a month,” he added. “We know that connecting forward-deployed troops with their families back home is really important, so we’ve installed in those centers high-speed Internet connections and a private telephone network where troops are making over 2 million free phone calls every year.”
As Michele Flournoy, the undersecretary of defense for policy, prepares for civilian life, she shares her thoughts on the President’s and Dept of Defense role in world events.
The bin Laden raid marked a high point for the world in the war on terrorists. Flournoy credits President Barack Obama’s leadership for being key to success. “This was not a slam dunk in terms of an easy judgment call,” she said. “This was something that frankly he had some very senior advisors telling him not to do. He took a calculated risk, but at the end of the day it was an extremely strong decision, and one that meant a lot symbolically in the fight against al-Qaida.”
Flournoy is happy with the progress made against this deadly terror group, but “it’s a project we’re not finished with yet,” she said. “We should be particularly grateful for the contributions of our special operations and intelligence forces.”
The U.S. military left Iraq at the end of 2011, and after a surge of 33,000 American troops into Afghanistan, there is enough progress that a drawdown has begun there.
First Lady Michelle Obama today announced a series of measures intended to increase the nation’s support for caregivers of wounded, ill and injured service members.
Joined by Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis and senior military leaders, Obama announced the Labor Department’s proposal to expand military family leave protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
President will participate in an interview with YouTube and Google+ to discuss his State of the Union Address. The interview will be held through a Google+ Hangout, making it the first completely virtual interview from the White House. The President will answer questions submitted by and voted on by over 225,000 people via YouTube. This interview will be streamed live on WhiteHouse.gov, YouTube.com/whitehouse and the White House Google+ page.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2012 – The departments of Defense and State have agreed an international code of conduct should govern activities in outer space, and officials announced plans to work with the European Union to develop it.
Pentagon Press Secretary George Little yesterday issued a statement saying DOD “supports the concept” of an international code of conduct for outer space activities.
“An international code of conduct can enhance U.S. national security by encouraging responsible space behavior by reducing the risk of mishaps, misperceptions and mistrust,” he said.
Earlier today, I received the Secretary of State’s recommendation on the pending application for the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. As the State Department made clear last month, the rushed and arbitrary deadline insisted on by Congressional Republicans prevented a full assessment of the pipeline’s impact, especially the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment. As a result, the Secretary of State has recommended that the application be denied. And after reviewing the State Department’s report, I agree.
This announcement is not a judgment on the merits of the pipeline, but the arbitrary nature of a deadline that prevented the State Department from gathering the information necessary to approve the project and protect the American people. I’m disappointed that Republicans in Congress forced this decision, but it does not change my Administration’s commitment to American-made energy that creates jobs and reduces our dependence on oil. Under my Administration, domestic oil and natural gas production is up, while imports of foreign oil are down. In the months ahead, we will continue to look for new ways to partner with the oil and gas industry to increase our energy security –including the potential development of an oil pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma to the Gulf of Mexico – even as we set higher efficiency standards for cars and trucks and invest in alternatives like biofuels and natural gas. And we will do so in a way that benefits American workers and businesses without risking the health and safety of the American people and the environment.
