Free Republic

President Obama on Saturday celebrated his upcoming birthday with an annual tradition: hitting the links with a group of old friends. The president — who turns 54 on Tuesday — and his friends played golf at Joint Base Andrews just outside the Beltway before heading up to the Camp David presidential retreat for the rest of the weekend.

The White House said top administration officials gathered late Saturday over a terror threat that provoked the State Department to close more than 20 diplomatic posts and issue a worldwide travel alert. National Security Adviser Susan Rice chaired a meeting with 12 administration officials including the secretaries of State, Defense and Homeland Security and the directors of the FBI, CIA and NSA

<p>Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama spent his birthday weekend away from the White House but was briefed about the terror threat that prompted embassy closings and heightened military readiness across the Middle East and North Africa.</p> <p>On Sunday morning, he remained at the Camp David presidential retreat just outside Washington, where he had flown Saturday afternoon after golfing with close friends earlier in the day. Obama turned 52 Sunday.</p>