Obama To Host Buhari On July 20 - White House

US President Barack Obama will welcome his Nigerian counterpart to Washington next month, the White House announced Thursday, a symbolic show of solidarity after the country's first ever democratic transition.

"President Obama will host Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari at the White House," on July 20, the White House said.

The visit will mark "our support for the Nigerian people following their historic democratic elections and peaceful transfer of power," a statement added.

Obama's administration had faced criticism for not planning to visit Nigeria during a two nation Africa tour, also slated for July.

That trip will take in Kenya and Ethiopia, countries which have held highly questioned elections in recent memory.

May elections in Ethiopia resulted in the ruling party gaining all 546 parliamentary seats.

A presidential visit to Kenya had been put on ice while President Uhuru Kenyatta faced charges -- now suspended -- of crimes against humanity for his role in 2007-2008 post-election violence.

Obama and Buhari themselves will have a packed agenda.

The White House said they would discuss combating Boko Haram militants.

The armies of Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon have been fighting a joint campaign against Boko Haram for several months, pushing militants out of captured towns and villages.

But village raids continue apace, often resulting in the deaths of dozens of women and children.

Boko Haram has been fighting to establish a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria since 2009.

Obama and Buhari will also discuss Nigeria's economic and political reforms to "unlock its full potential as a regional and global leader."

Source: Yahoo News

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The 97-Year-Old Who Was Surprised by Obama on Her 'Field Trip' to the White House

Vivian Bailey, 97, never had the chance to go on a field trip as a child, but on Tuesday, she took the “field trip” of her dreams to the White House and was even surprised by President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

“It was quite a surprise! I had no idea we were going to meet the president and the vice president, and it was awesome,” Bailey told ABC News. “It was a dream come true.”

Bailey was invited to tour the White House after the vice president's office saw a story about her work fundraising for an elementary school in Columbia, Maryland. 

For the past 16 years, Bailey has led a fundraising effort to help Running Brook Elementary School fulfill its “wish list” for students. Part of that wish list includes funding field trips for the school children, something Bailey finds particularly important.

“I’ve been very insistent on trying to make sure our kids get field trips,” Bailey said. “I want our children whose parents are certainly not wealthy to have those opportunities.”

Born in Washington, D.C., in 1918, Bailey moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, as a child where she attended segregated schools and said her classes were not taken on field trips.

Bailey served in the Women’s Army Corps in Alabama and Georgia from 1942 to 1946, eventually becoming a first lieutenant in charge of 144 women at Fort Benning. After leaving the Army, Bailey moved to Chicago, where she met her husband and worked for the Veterans Administration and the Social Security office. She was then transferred to a Social Security office in Baltimore and retired in Columbia, Maryland, in 1975. 

Source: Yahoo News

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