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PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: The President and First Lady are in Russia for the G8 summit, which will conclude tomorrow. In addition to attending the group sessions, President Bush held a series of bilateral meetings with key leaders, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and French President Jacques Chirac. Significantly, the President also had a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao, which was characterized as "on the sidelines" of the G8 summit. (China is not a member of the G8.) Here is a link to the White House transcript of their joint press conference...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: The President and Mrs. Bush are spending a quiet weekend prior to a busy week during which they will travel to Germany and Russia. An important story not highlighted in most MSM reports is the fact that Russia and the United States are nearly an agreement on a civilian nuclear power. Here is an excerpt from an AP story by Judith Ingram, published today (click the link embedded in the title to read the entire article): Russia, U.S. eye nuke power cooperationMOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Bush are expected to make progress...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: After an eventful week capped by their visit to Graceland, the President and First Lady spend a quiet Saturday at Camp David. They returned to the White House earlier today. During her press preview last Thursday of the Official Dinner for the Japanese Prime Minister, Mrs. Bush had some interesting and fun things to say. Here's an excerpt. Go here to read the entire transcript. Q Mrs. Bush, could talk about the decision to have a state dinner tonight? This has become rare in this administration. MRS. BUSH: Well, I wouldn't say it's really rare....

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President Bush will spend the Fourth of July holiday with troops and their families at Fort Bragg in the state of North Carolina, where he says he will thank them for their service in what he calls freedom's cause. The President's 60th birthday is coming up this Thursday. So the Associated Press published some GWB quips about his age: "Security is strong at the airports. I hope they stop taking off the shoes of the elderly. I must confess, they haven't taken off my shoes lately at the airport." — Jan. 23, at Kansas State...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President and Mrs. Bush attended St. John's Episcopal Church this morning, then spent a quite day at the White House. Tonight they will attend a Gala at Ford's Theater in Washington. On Friday, President Bush issued an Executive Order to protect the property rights of Americans in transactions involving the federal government. On the breaking news thread about this FRiday, a number of people posted knee-jerk negative comments, which has become all too typical on FR over the last few years. A common complaint is that eminent domain issues are usually local, so therefore this...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President and Mrs. Bush hosted Opening Day of the White House Tee Ball season. General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was today's Tee Ball Commissioner. Following is a transcript of the President's Remarks to open the season: THE PRESIDENT: Seth, thank you very much. Good job. Welcome to the South Lawn. Laura and I are thrilled you're here for opening day. It is an honor for me, and the Commissioner, General Pete Pace, to welcome you all here for what is going to be an exciting ball game between the Yankees...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President and Mrs. Bush are spending Father's Day weekend at their ranch in Crawford, TX. In the meantime, in upstate New York, the 202 midshipmen of the Merchant Marine Academy, along with their families, faculty, Academy staff and guests are eagerly anticipating the first visit ever by a sitting President of the United States to their commencement. Judging by reports in multiple news articles, as well as in news releases from corporations and sponsors, this event is a very big deal in the Maritime industry. I've vicariously become excited about it just through reading the...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President and Mrs. Bush are attending a private social event this evening before GWB heads back to Camp David for the two-day conference on Iraq. Here's a story I came across yesterday, but which seemed appropriate to post for you on Sunday. A Democrat Congresswoman wants to meet with President Bush about her bill to increase stem cell research funding. President Bush is threatening a veto. For all the carping around FR about how GWB is not conservative, he is holding the line on issues such as this bill, which even former President Ronald Reagan...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President and Mrs. Bush are spending the weekend at Camp David. They will return late Sunday for a long-planned social engagement, and the President will return to Camp David early Monday for two days of meetings on Iraq. The sessions start with a long day of meetings between GWB and his national security team, along with the military commanders in the field via teleconference from Iraq and Central Command. Between the morning and afternoon sessions, the President will lunch with outside experts. The day ends with dinner Monday night. On Tuesday, the sessions conclude with...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President and Mrs. Bush attended Sunday services at St. John's today as several important news items received little notice in the media. The Supreme Leader of Iran's Islamic Revolution gave a horrific speech today. Using both U.S. domestic and international Leftist polls and other bile, Khamenei essentially claimed that President Bush is the world's #1 pariah (my paraphrasing of the gist of what he said). In a world increasingly interconnected electronically, biased polls and media reports driven by the domestic Left (but aided by the always disgruntled far right) are becoming exremely dangerous to U.S....

WASHINGTON -- During a 14-minute ceremony this afternoon at the White House, President Bush lightheartedly compared his plight to that of the Steelers, when they were 7-5 last season. "Halfway through the season, a lot of people counted the Pittsburgh Steelers out, said you don't have a chance." Bush paused for effect. "I kind of know the feeling." The ceremony to honor the Super Bowl XL champions took place in the East Room of the White House this afternoon. Steelers President Art Rooney presented Bush with a No. 43 black Steelers jersey with his name and the number 43 on...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President and Mrs. Bush arrived back at the White House today. They will participate in traditional Memorial Day events tomorrow, including the wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery followed by a memorial service in the Memorial Amphitheater. This event will be broadcast live on C-SPAN, beginning at approximately 10:30am Eastern time. For those who can't see it live, it will be rebroadcast at 8:00pm Eastern time on C-SPAN. For a President who is daily maligned by the media and people across the political spectrum, George W. Bush sure...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President and Mrs. Bush and their long-time friends, former Commerce Secretary Don Evans and his wife, are spending Memorial Day weekend together at Camp David. There is speculation in the media that the President may ask Mr. Evans to become the next Treasury Secretary. Today, the President traveled to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, to give the commencement address to the Corps of Cadets. SCHEDULE UPDATE: NOTE -- so far, new Press Secretary Tony Snow has not been annoucing the Week Ahead in his press briefings. Scott McClellan has stopped...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President and Mrs. Bush attended St. John's this morning, and GWB went for a mountain bike ride. The first couple also made a brief television appearance to congratulate the new Iraqi government. Here are the President's brief remarks: THE PRESIDENT: The formation of a unity government in Iraq is a new day for the millions of Iraqis who want to live in freedom. And the formation of the unity government in Iraq begins a new chapter in our relationship with Iraq. This morning, I called the President, the Prime Minister and the Speaker to congratulate...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: The President is spending the weekend at the White House, where his father is visiting. The First Lady gave a commencement address at Roger Williams College in Bristol, RI, today. President Bush will welcome new Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to the White House next week. The two leaders are expected to discuss three key issues: --> The final border between Israel and the West Bank. The United States wants Israel to keep trying to negotiate with Palestinian Authority President Mamoud Abbas over a final border. Israel wants to define the border and pull out...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: The President and First Lady are spending the Mother's Day weekend at Camp David with family and invited guests, including former Chief of Staff Andrew Card. Following are two significant, if little noticed news items (to read the entire articles or just view the sources, click the links embedded in the titles). Cautious Optimism for President Bush's ID Theft Executive OrderPresident Bush this week created an "ID theft prevention" task force by executive order, and Internet security executives are reacting positively, if cautiously, to the new federal initiative. "This task force should help improve coordination...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: While the Vice President and Mrs. Lynne Cheney were headed back to the United States from their visit to former communist states in Eastern Europe and Western Asia, President Bush, the First Lady and GWB's parents attended St. John's Church this morning. The first family are spending a quiet day at the White House. UPCOMING: Big news...President Bush will host a State Dinner for his good friend, Australian Prime Minister John Howard. From the News.com.au website: Mr Bush, who notoriously dislikes the formality of black-tie events, has previously hosted just seven similar events at the...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY President Bush had an exceptionally full calendar today. He left Washington shortly after dawn this morning to fly to Oklahoma, where he delivered the commencement address at the University of Oklahoma. While in flight aboard Air Force One, the President got some work done, including a phone call to discuss Darfur with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. On his return to Washington, the President joined the First Lady and former President George H. W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, at a wedding for family friends. Transcript of the President's Commencement Address at the University of Oklahoma...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President George W. Bush said that the United States has an "unshakeable" commitment to defend Israel, which has faced outspoken threats from Iran's hardline leader. America's commitment to Israel's security is strong, enduring and unshakeable," Bush said in a speech in Washington to the influential American Jewish Committee, which is marking its 100th anniversary. He said the United States and Israel were "natural allies and these ties will never be broken". Amid a mounting international ..........

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President and Mrs. Bush attended St. John's Church this morning, as is their custom when spending the weekend at the White House. Last night they attended the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner, where the President and his "alter ego," comedian Steve Bridges, stole the show. The best review I found is on USA Today's website. Since I'm not sure how much of their material we can excerpt, I'll just provide a link. The article includes a nearly complete transcript of the President's and Mrs. Bridges routine. LINK TO USA TODAY CORRESPONDENTS' DINNER REVIEW