Today, President Obama is headed to Baltimore, Maryland to talk early childhood education, infrastructure and ensuring hard work leads to a decent living.
Watch the video below to learn more about what the President is doing in Baltimore, and check back on this post for updates from the trip – we’ll post them all here together. If you’re interested, tune in to wh.gov/live at 1:20 pm ET to watch the President’s remarks at Ellicot Dredges, which manufactures innovative dredges and dredge equipment being sold for infrastructure projects across the country and around the world.
Previewing the President’s trip to Baltimore
Published on May 16, 2013
On Friday, May 17, the President will travel to Baltimore, Maryland in his second Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Tour. While in Baltimore, the President will visit an elementary school that provides comprehensive early childhood services. Then, the President will visit Ellicott Dredges, which manufactures innovative dredges and dredge equipment being sold for infrastructure projects across the country and around the world. He will also be visiting a community center that helps families by ensuring parents have the skills they need to earn a decent living.
President Barack Obama left behind scandal-focused Washington on Friday to focus on the country’s slowly improving jobs picture. Obama stopped at an elementary school that provides early childhood education. (May 17)
In Case You Missed It
Here are some of the top stories from the White House blog:
David Simas: “A gesture that means something”
Deputy Senior Advisor David Simas sends a message to the White House email list, asking people to speak out in support of the Affordable Care Act.
On Friday, May 17th at 10:00am MT (12:00pm ET), Dr. Biden will give the commencement address to the 33rd graduating class of Navajo Technical College (NTC) — one of two tribal colleges serving the Navajo Nation.
Many of the programs at NTC are designed to help create new jobs and economic opportunities on or near the Navajo Nation, while equipping their students with the skills they need to succeed in those jobs.
President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden meet with Secretary of Defense Hagel, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dempsey and the service secretaries, service chiefs, and senior enlisted advisors to discuss sexual assault in the military.
President and First Lady to Host Concert Honoring Carole King in the East Room
Wednesday, May 22 * White House – As part of their “In Performance at the White House” series, the President and First Lady will host a concert in the East Room honoring singer-songwriter Carole King, who will be awarded the 2013 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. President Obama will present the award as he did when the Library of Congress honored Stevie Wonder (2009), Sir Paul McCartney (2010), and the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David (2012). The program will include performances by King, as well as Gloria Estefan, Billy Joel, Jesse McCartney, Emeli Sandé, James Taylor and Trisha Yearwood.
The President’s remarks will be pooled press and the entire event will be streamed live on www.whitehouse.gov/live starting at 7:00 PM ET. “Carole King: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize In Performance at the White House” will be broadcast Tuesday, May 28 at 8:00 PM ET on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings). The program will also be broadcast at a later date via the American Forces Network to American service men and women and civilians at U.S. Department of Defense locations around the world.
This will be the first time the Gershwin Prize honor has been awarded to a woman. The Gershwin Prize commemorates George and Ira Gershwin, the legendary American songwriting team whose extensive manuscript collections reside in the Library of Congress. The prize is awarded to musicians whose lifetime contributions in the field of popular song exemplify the standard of excellence associated with the Gershwins.
The White House concert caps off two days of events celebrating the recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. On Tuesday, May 21st at 7:00 PM ET, the Library of Congress will host an invitation-only concert at their Coolidge Auditorium in honor of Carole King. The all-star tribute will include performances by Patti Austin, Colbie Caillat, Michael Feinstein, Siedah Garrett, Louise Goffin, Shelby Lynne, Gian Marco, Arturo Sandoval and a special performance by honoree Carole King. This event will be open to press, but space is limited. Members of the media who wish to cover this event must contact Sheryl Cannady at 202-707-6456 or scannady@loc.gov.
“Carole King: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize In Performance at the White House” will be the eleventh “In Performance at the White House” program hosted by the President and Mrs. Obama. Starting in February 2009, these events have honored the musical genius of Stevie Wonder, Sir Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach and Hal David; celebrated Hispanic musical heritage during Hispanic Heritage Month; marked Black History Month with events featuring music from the Civil Rights Movement, Motown, Memphis Soul and the Blues; spotlighted Broadway and the unique spirit of the American musical; and explored the rich roots and resiliency of Country Music.
A class of third graders from North Philadelphia recently wrote to Vice President Biden about reducing gun violence. This week, the Vice President sat down to share some of these children’s words with you — and an expression that belonged to his mom: “out of the mouths of babes come gems of wisdom.” Take a listen.
Vice President President Joe Biden reads letters from children about reducing gun violence, in his Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. May 15, 2013. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
Secretary Ray LaHood and Sylvia Burwell
May 17, 2013
10:28 AM EDT
President Obama today signed a Presidential Memorandum that will shave months, and even years, off the time it takes to review and approve major infrastructure projects. This means that states, local governments, and private developers will be able to start construction sooner, create jobs earlier, and fix our nation’s infrastructure faster.
On March 22, 2012, the President issued an Executive Order launching a government-wide initiative to improve the efficiency of federal review and permitting of infrastructure projects. Since then, agencies have expedited the review and permitting of 50 major projects, including bridges, transit , railways, waterways, roads, and renewable energy projects.
Federal agencies have also identified a set of best practices for efficient review and permitting. Those range from expanding information technology (IT) tools to strategies – like simultaneous review – for improving collaboration. Today’s Presidential Memorandum directs all relevant agencies to put these best practices into effect.
Cutting red tape and streamlining the process for making permitting decisions will help us meet the President’s goal of cutting in half the timelines for major infrastructure projects, while creating better outcomes for our communities and for the environment.
We also recently expedited Federal approval for the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement project in New York. By speeding up the approval process, Federal agencies trimmed up to three years off the timeline for this multi-billion dollar project that will help put Americans back to work.
The school is renowned for it’s quality education. While visiting with students, parents, and administrators, Obama gave a speech where he praised the value of early education. This is all common-sense stuff except to those pushing starve-the-beast austerity type measures that hurt the underprivileged and disenfranchised.
The highlight of the trip, though, was the right reaching an all time low… by shouting racial epithets outside of an elementary school!
It’s apparent to everyone by now that the so-called Tea Party will protest anything that Obama supports. Education for young child? Protest! So perhaps it wasn’t surprising that a sizable crowd formed in protest. The signs featured are the usual hodge-podge of illiteracy and ignorance. However, what happened at the end of the engagement is what should really turn your stomach.
As Obama was prepared to leave, the protesters, riled up by a speaker with a megaphone, began to shout epithets at our Commander-in-Chief.
Never mind that there were children there, being exposed to the hate, bigotry and ignorance that the American right has to offer. The administrators scrambled to shoo the children away, though undoubtedly some had heard the hurtful words that they were shouting.
I have a couple of sources at the engagement and I am working to get more information. To my knowledge, no one was arrested, though several people were trespassed off of the property. As I hear from the school coordinator and a friend who attended the event, I will update this diary with more information.
Thank you Mr. Nathaniel Patterson (cause leader), for this information.
Makes you wonder what type of nation we live in where the citizens disrespect the leader of said nation because he has a skin tone darker than their own.
Makes me wonder even more, why the main (lame) street (sewer) media (jokes of journalism) didn’t have this story lead it’s evening newscast?
Amazing to me that caucasian racist trash, can fix their mouths, full of broken teeth and chewing tobacco, to yell nigger at the man who makes it possible for them to live in their trailers, get computers from Rent-A-Center, and enjoy a dinner of Possum Stew every other Tuesday.
On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot twenty children and six adult staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in the village of Sandy Hook in Newtown, Connecticut. Before driving to the school, Lanza had shot and killed his mother, Nancy, at their Newtown home. As first responders arrived, he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.
The shooting prompted renewed debate about gun control in the United States, and a proposal for new legislation banning the sale and manufacture of certain types of semi-automatic weapons and magazines with more than ten rounds of ammunition.
As of November 30, 2012, Sandy Hook Elementary School had 456 children enrolled in kindergarten through fourth grade. According to school authorities, the school’s security protocol had recently been upgraded, requiring visitors to be individually admitted after visual and identification review by video monitor. The doors to the school were locked at 9:30 am each day, after morning arrivals.
Newtown is located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, about 60 miles (97 km) outside New York City. Violent crime had been rare in the town of 28,000 residents; there was only one homicide in the town in the ten years prior to the school shooting.
Shootings
Some time before 9:30 a.m. EST on Friday, December 14, 2012, Lanza fatally shot his mother, Nancy Lanza, age 52, at their Newtown home. Investigators later found her body, clad in pajamas, in her bed with four gunshot wounds to her head. Lanza then drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School.
At about 9:35 am, using his mother’s Bushmaster XM15-E2S rifle, Lanza shot his way through a locked glass door at the front of the school. He was wearing black clothing, earplugs and an olive green utility vest carrying magazines for the Bushmaster. Initial reports that he had been wearing body armor were incorrect. Some of those present heard initial shots on the school intercom system, which was being used for morning announcements.
Principal Dawn Hochsprung and school psychologist Mary Sherlach were meeting with other faculty members when they heard gunshots. Hochsprung and Sherlach immediately left the room, rushed to the source of the sounds, and encountered and confronted Lanza. He shot and killed both women.
Hochsprung may have turned on the school intercom to alert others in the building. A nine-year-old boy said he heard the shooter say: “Put your hands up!” and someone else say “Don’t shoot!”, people yelling and many gunshots over the intercom as he, his classmates, and teacher took refuge in a closet in the gymnasium. Diane Day, a school therapist who was at the faculty meeting, heard screaming, followed by more gunshots. Natalie Hammond, lead teacher in the meeting room, pressed her body against the door to keep it closed. Lanza shot Hammond through the door, in her leg and arm. She was later treated at Danbury Hospital. The police reported that a second adult was wounded in the attack, but that individual was not publicly identified.
In a first-grade classroom, Lauren Rousseau, a substitute teacher, was shot and killed. Most of the students in her class were killed; a six-year-old girl was the sole survivor. The girl’s family pastor said that she survived the mass shooting by playing dead and remaining still until the building grew quiet, and she felt it was safe to leave. She ran from the school, and was the first child to escape the building. When she reached her mother, she said, “Mommy, I’m okay, but all my friends are dead.” The child described the shooter as a very angry man.
Lanza then went to another first-grade classroom nearby. The classroom’s teacher, Victoria Leigh Soto, was reported to have attempted to hide several children in a closet and cupboards. As Lanza entered her classroom, Soto reportedly told him that the children were in the auditorium. Several of the children then came out of their hiding place and tried to run for safety and were shot dead. Soto put herself between her students and the shooter, who then fatally shot her. Six surviving children from Soto’s class crawled out of the cupboards after the shooting and fled the school. They and a school bus driver took refuge at a nearby home. As reported by his parents, a six-year-old boy in Soto’s class fled with a group of his classmates and the children escaped through the door when Lanza shot their teacher.
Anne Marie Murphy, a teacher’s aide who worked with special-needs students, shielded six-year-old Dylan Hockley with her body, trying to protect him from the bullets that killed them both. Teacher’s aide Rachel D’Avino, who had been employed at the school working with a special-needs student for a little more than one week, also died trying to protect her students.
School nurse Sally Cox, 60, hid under a desk in her office and described the door opening and seeing Lanza’s boots and legs facing her desk from approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) away. He remained standing for a few seconds before turning around and leaving. She and school secretary Barbara Halstead then hid in a first-aid supply closet for up to four hours, after calling 9-1-1. Custodian Rick Thorne ran through hallways, alerting classrooms.
First grade teacher Kaitlin Roig, age 29, hid 14 students in a bathroom and barricaded the door, telling them to be completely quiet to remain safe. School library staff Yvonne Cech and Maryann Jacob first hid 18 children in a part of the library the school used for lockdown in practice drills, but on discovering that one of the doors would not lock, had the children crawl into a storage room as Cech barricaded the door with a filing cabinet.
Music teacher Maryrose Kristopik, 50, barricaded her fourth-graders in a tiny supply closet during the rampage. Lanza arrived moments later, pounding and yelling “Let me in”, while the students in Kristopik’s class quietly hid inside.
Two third graders, chosen as classroom helpers, were walking down the hallway to the office to deliver the morning attendance sheet as the shooting began. Teacher Abbey Clements pulled both children into her classroom, where they hid.
Laura Feinstein, a reading specialist at the school, gathered two students from outside her classroom and hid with them under desks after they heard gunshots. Feinstein called the school office and attempted to call 9-1-1 but was unable to connect because her cell phone did not have reception. She hid with the children for approximately 40 minutes, before law enforcement came to lead them out of the room.
Lanza stopped shooting between 9:46 am and 9:49 am, after firing 50 to 100 rounds. He reloaded frequently during the shooting, sometimes firing only fifteen rounds from a thirty round magazine. He shot all of his victims multiple times, and at least one victim, six-year-old Noah Pozner, 11 times. Most of the shooting took place in two first-grade classrooms near the entrance of the school, killing fourteen in one room and six in the other. The student victims were eight boys and twelve girls, between six and seven years of age, and the six adults were all women who worked at the school. Bullets were also found in at least three cars parked outside the school. After realizing that he had been spotted by a pair of police officers who had entered the building, Lanza fled from their sight and then killed himself with a gunshot to the head with a handgun.
Newtown police dispatch first requested officers on the scene at 9:35 am Connecticut State Police received the first call at 9:41 am, and with Newtown police, quickly mobilized local police dog and police tactical units, a bomb squad, and a state police helicopter.
Police locked down the school and began evacuating the survivors room-by-room, escorting groups of students and adults away from the school. They swept the school for additional shooters at least four times. No shots were fired by the authorities. According to a transcript of police radio traffic, Lanza committed suicide within fifteen minutes of the first 911 call being received.
At approximately 10:00 am, Danbury Hospital scrambled extra medical personnel in expectation of having to treat numerous victims. Three wounded patients were evacuated to the hospital, where two children were later declared dead. The other was an unidentified adult.
The New York City medical examiner dispatched a portable morgue to assist the authorities. The victims’ bodies were removed from the school and formally identified during the night after the shooting. A state trooper was assigned to each victim’s family to protect their privacy and provide them with information.
The weapons were legally owned by Lanza’s mother, who was a gun enthusiast. Police said that Lanza used the Bushmaster rifle to kill the victims at the school. At a press conference on December 15, Dr. H. Wayne Carver II, the Chief Medical Examiner of Connecticut, was asked about the wounds, and replied “All the ones that I know of at this point were caused by the long weapon.” Under Connecticut law, the 20-year-old Lanza was old enough to carry a long gun, but too young to legally own or carry handguns.
Investigators are not believed to have found a suicide note or any messages referring to the planning of the attack. Janet Robinson, superintendent of Newtown schools, said she had not found any connection between Lanza’s mother and the school, in contrast to initial media reports that stated Lanza’s mother had worked there. Lanza removed the hard drive from his computer and damaged it prior to the shooting, creating a challenge for investigators to recover data. Investigators have evaluated Lanza’s body, looking for evidence of drugs or medication through toxicology tests. Additionally, although unusual for an investigation of this type and unlikely to provide conclusive information,DNA testing of Lanza is being utilized.
Police also investigated whether Lanza was the person who had been in an altercation with four staff members at Sandy Hook School the day before the massacre. It was presumed that he killed two of the four staff members involved in the altercation (the principal and the psychologist) and wounded the third (the lead teacher) in the attack; the fourth staff member was not at the school that day. The state police stated that they did not know of any reports about any altercations at the school.
Police sources initially reported Lanza’s sibling, Ryan Lanza, as the perpetrator. This was likely because the perpetrator was carrying his brother’s identification, Ryan told The Jersey Journal. Lanza’s brother voluntarily submitted to questioning by New Jersey police, Connecticut State Police, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Police said he was not considered a suspect, and he was not taken into custody. Ryan Lanza said he had not been in touch with his brother since 2010. Connecticut State Police indicated their concern about misinformation being posted on social media sites and threatened prosecution of anyone involved with such activities.
Adam Peter Lanza was born on April 22, 1992, in Exeter, New Hampshire. He and his mother lived in Sandy Hook, 5 miles (8 km) from the elementary school. He did not have a criminal record. He attended Sandy Hook Elementary School for a brief time. Afterward, he attended St. Rose of Lima Catholic School in Newtown, and then Newtown High School, where he was an honors student. Lanza subsequently was home-schooled by his mother, and earned a GED. Lanza’s aunt said his mother removed him from the Newtown public school system because she was unhappy with the school district‘s plans for her son. He attended Western Connecticut State University in 2008 and 2009.
Students and teachers who knew him in high school described Lanza as “intelligent, but nervous and fidgety”. He avoided attracting attention and was uncomfortable socializing. He is not known to have had any close friends in school.
Lanza’s brother told law enforcement that Adam was believed to have a personality disorder and was “somewhat autistic“.An anonymous law enforcement official and friends of Nancy Lanza reported that Adam had been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. Due to concerns that published descriptions of Lanza’s autism could result in a backlash against others with the condition, autism advocates campaigned to clarify that autism is a brain-related developmental problem and not a mental illness. The predatory aggression demonstrated in the shooting is generally not seen in the autistic population. Adam’s father, a corporate executive, Nancy Lanza was supported by alimonypayments. A relative commented that she did not have to work because the divorce settlement had left her “very well off”. There were conflicting reports on whether she had worked as a volunteer at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.
According to Nancy Lanza’s sister-in-law, she was a gun enthusiast and owned at least a dozen firearms. She often took her two sons to a local shooting range.
President Obama Cries at Sandy Hook Elementary Speech – Newtown School Shooting Connecticut
President Barack Obama gave a televised address the day of the shootings, saying, “We’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.” Obama expressed “enormous sympathy for families that are affected”. He also ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at the White House and other U.S. federal government facilities worldwide in respect of the victims.
President Obama: ‘Newtown, You Are Not Alone’
On December 16, Obama traveled to Newtown where he met with victims’ families and spoke at an interfaith vigil. President Obama will honor the six slain adults posthumously with the 2012 Presidential Citizens Medal on February 15, 2013.
Connecticut GovernorDan Malloy addressed the media the evening of the shootings near a local church holding a vigil for the victims, urging the people of Connecticut to come together and help each other. Malloy said, “Evil visited this community today, and it is too early to speak of recovery, but each parent, each sibling, each member of the family has to understand that Connecticut, we are all in this together, we will do whatever we can to overcome this event, we will get through it.” Hundreds of mourners, including Malloy, attended vigils in various churches in Newtown. On December 17, Malloy called for a statewide moment of silence and church bells to be tolled 26 times at 9:30 am on Friday, December 21, exactly one week after the school shooting
U.S. Secretary of EducationArne Duncan said “… our thanks go out to every teacher, staff member, and first responder who cared for, comforted, and protected children from harm, often at risk to themselves. We will do everything in our power to assist and support the healing and recovery of Newtown.”
The day after the shootings, Lanza’s father released a statement:
“Our hearts go out to the families and friends who lost loved ones and to all those who were injured. Our family is grieving along with all those who have been affected by this enormous tragedy. No words can truly express how heartbroken we are. We are in a state of disbelief and trying to find whatever answers we can. We too are asking why. We have cooperated fully with law enforcement and will continue to do so. Like so many of you, we are saddened, but struggling to make sense of what has transpired.”
Leaders from many countries and organizations throughout the world also offered their condolences through the weekend after the shooting.
The Sandy Hook Elementary School makeshift memorial on Berkshire Road in Newtown, CT. 12 days after shooting. (Wed 12/26)
In his speech at the December 16 vigil, Obama called for using “whatever power this office holds”, to prevent similar tragedies in the future. Within 15 hours of the incident, 100,000 Americans signed a petition at the Obama administration’s We the People petitioning website in support of a renewed national debate on gun control. President Obama later affirmed that he would make gun control a “central issue” at the start of his second term of office, in a speech on December 19. The President formed a Gun Violence Task Force to be led by Vice President Joe Biden to address the causes of gun violence in the United States.
Senators Dianne Feinstein and Joe Lieberman called for an assault weapon ban, with Feinstein intending to introduce a ban bill on the first day of the new Congress, while former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot and injured in a 2011 shooting in Tucson, has launched Americans for Responsible Solutions to raise money for further gun control efforts in light of the Sandy Hook shooting.Fear of future restrictions on firearms led to a spike in sales of guns, ammunition, and magazines in the weeks following the shooting.
A month after the shooting, President Obama cited the incident while announcing proposals for increased gun control. His proposals included universal background checks on firearms purchases, an assault weapons ban, and limiting magazine capacity to 10 cartridges. Relatives of the victims in the shooting and survivors from other mass shootings were official guests during the announcement.
The school was closed indefinitely following the shooting, partially because it remained a crime scene. Sandy Hook students returned to school on January 3, 2013 at Chalk Hill Middle School in nearby Monroe at the town’s invitation. Chalk Hill is a previously unused facility, refurbished after the shooting, with desks and equipment brought in from Sandy Hook Elementary. The Chalk Hill school has been temporarily renamed “Sandy Hook”. The University of Connecticut created a scholarship for the surviving children of the shootings.
On January 31, 2013, the Newtown school board voted unanimously to ask for police officer presence in all of its elementary schools; previously other schools in the district had such protection, but Sandy Hook had not been one of those.
NRA’s Wayne LaPierre Response To The Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre
Published on Dec 21, 2012
National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre made a statement today in reaction to last week’s mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Conn. LaPierre called for armed security at America’s schools saying “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
I promise to honor the 26 lives lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School; I promise to do everything I can to encourage and support common sense solutions that make my community and our country safer from similar acts of violence.It’s time to do something. Please “Make the Promise”.
There was a gathering of people in Newtown. It was in someone’s kitchen, and it was filled with friends and neighbors who knew they needed to be together. They knew they had to hug each other. Gradually, as they spoke, they also realized something else. They understood that they had a responsibility. To honor the kids and teachers they’d lost, as well as the survivors. They promised to do whatever they could to not let this tragedy stand as just another in our country’s history.
Moving forward, the mission of Sandy Hook Promise is to work to identify and implement holistic, common sense solutions that will make our community and our country safer from similar acts of violence through education, outreach and grass-roots discussion. SHP believes the time has come to enter into these discussions with equal parts of Love, Compassion, and Common Sense.
Please honor this Promise by making one of your own – Promise that this is the time. The time to stand up and say that our society should not live under the threat of this kind of violence. When you make this promise, you join the people of Sandy Hook, who want their town to be remembered as the place where we came together both as a community and as a nation … and decided that tragedies like this must come to an end. Let Sandy Hook go down in history as the place where real change began. This is the Sandy Hook Promise.
Vice President President Joe Biden reads letters from children about reducing gun violence, in his Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. May 15, 2013. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
Jueseppi B.
