• Obamas to host celebs, athletes at White House Easter Egg Roll

    Brendan Smialowski / AFP - Getty Images

    President Obama helps a young participant during during the 134th annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House last year.

    By Scott Stump, TODAY contributor

    Famous athletes, celebrity chefs and a pint-sized president will all be part of the festivities on Monday when President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama host the 135th annual White House Easter Egg Roll.

    A crowd of 35,000 representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia is expected on the South Lawn for the largest annual public event at the White House. A special guest will be Robby Novak, better known as Kid President, the 9-year-old YouTube sensation from Tennessee whose stated mission is to make the world less boring. Novak helped film a promotional video for the White House earlier this year to let his peers know about the Easter Egg Roll.

    In addition to rolling Easter eggs on the lawn, there will be live music, sports instruction, cooking stations and storytelling. “American Idol’’ stars Jordin Sparks and Jessica Sanchez headline the group of musical performers, while those handling storytelling duties for the children will include NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson, Oscar-nominated child actress Quvenzhane Wallis and characters from Sesame Street.

    Food Network stars Ann Burrell and Ina Garten will be among those cooking up tasty and healthy eats for the attendees, and a host of professional athletes will be on hand to teach kids fun ways to stay fit as part of this year’s theme of “Be Healthy, Be Active, Be You!”  There also will be a “Yoga Garden’’ for children.

    More than 300,000 tickets were requested from people from across the nation, and a lottery was used to determine the 35,000 recipients of invitations, according to the White House. The White House seemed to hint that the annual event was in jeopardy of being canceled earlier this month, due to spending cuts, but quickly shot down that speculation and confirmed the celebration would go on as scheduled.

    This year’s souvenir Easter eggs will come in purple, blue, yellow and pink, bearing the signatures of the President and First Lady. There also will be a commemorative teal egg available with a paw print of Bo, the Obama family’s dog.

    Read more: 

    Kid President helps President Obama spread word about White House 'Egg Roll' 

    Bo hunts Easter eggs for White House Egg Roll

    White House: Sequester won't stop Easter Egg Roll

  • White House: Sequester won't stop Easter Egg Roll

    TODAY

    White House spokesman Jay Carney has assured that the 135th annual White House Easter Egg Roll on April 1 will go on as planned despite a memo last week indicating it could possible be cancelled due to looming spending cuts.

    By Scott Stump, TODAY contributor

    The looming sequester crisis will not stop the Easter Bunny from visiting the White House for the 135th straight year. 

    The annual White House Easter Egg Roll, hosted by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, will go on as planned on April 1 this year after a memo sent out by the White House last week indicated it could potentially be cancelled due to spending cuts. White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Tuesday that the event is still on. 

    "I just want to be clear that we are currently planning to proceed with the Easter Egg Roll," he said. "Because we distributed tickets to the Easter Egg Roll far in advance of the actual event, we alerted all ticket holders that this event is subject to cancellation due to funding uncertainty, including the possibility of a government shutdown." 

    The event on the White House's South Lawn is expected to attract 35,000 people who won tickets via a lottery system. In the White House invitation sent out last week, it notes that “by using these tickets, guests are acknowledging that this event is subject to cancellation due to funding uncertainty surrounding the Executive Office of the President and other federal agencies. If cancelled, the event will not be re-scheduled.  We will notify you if there are any modifications to this event.”

    "Again, the language that got attention on the Hill and was reported duly by the press was prepared well in advance, and it had to do with the potential for at least the possibility of a government shutdown should there not be a resolution on the continuing resolution,'' Carney said. "It was not about sequester principally.

    "So having said that, I want to be clear that because it certainly looks like there is progress being made, and nobody expects a government shutdown, that we have every expectation that the Easter Egg Roll will proceed as planned.  I hope that settles the matter."

    That led to speculation that the event would be a victim of spending cuts if a resolution is not reached to prevent a federal government shutdown. Carney had previously reassured a crowd last week that the Easter Egg Roll would go off as planned. 

    The White House seemed certain that the event would survive when it released a promotional video on Monday of the Obamas' dog, Bo, prowling for Easter eggs on the White House lawn. 

    More: 

    Could sequester shut down White House Easter Egg Roll? 

    Bo hunts for White House Easter Eggs

    Kid President helps Obama spread the word about Easter Egg Roll

     

     

     

    This story was originally published on Tue Mar 19, 2013 1:53 PM EDT

  • Could sequester shut down White House Easter Egg Roll?

    In light of ongoing budget battles, the White House released a memo suggesting the sequester could shut down the 135 annual Easter Egg Roll. NBC's Kristen Welker reports.

    By Tracy Saelinger, TODAY contributor

    Could politics shut down the White House Easter Egg Roll?

    The annual event, along the same lines as the hokey White House tradition of the Thanksgiving Turkey pardon, will celebrate its 135th anniversary this year — unless the partisan battle over the sequester gets in the way.

    A memo released by the White House last week is causing a stir, as it seems to hint that the sequester could shut down the Egg Roll.

    The White House invitation to the event, which went out to all members of Congress, notes that “by using these tickets, guests are acknowledging that this event is subject to cancellation due to funding uncertainty surrounding the Executive Office of the President and other federal agencies. If cancelled, the event will not be re-scheduled.  We will notify you if there are any modifications to this event.”

    More than 35,000 people are expected at the festivities on the South Lawn. The 2013 souvenir eggs come in purple, blue, yellow and pink and include the stamped figures of the president and first lady, according to the White House website. The five-pack "Collector’s Egg Set" also includes a commemorative “Bo” egg; commemorative eggs become part of the tradition in 1981, under President Reagan.  

    But if you’re a Congressperson — or one of the lucky regular folks who won a ticket via the lottery system to the 2013 Easter Egg Roll on April 1 — you can breathe a sigh of relief.

    A staffer at the White House Office of Legislative Affairs told TODAY.com on Monday that a cancellation of the event is unlikely.

    “I wouldn’t worry about it,” he said.

    On Monday, the White House seemed to anticipate that the Egg Roll would go off without a hitch, as it released a promotional video of Bo Obama hunting for Easter eggs on the White House lawn.

    Press Secretary Jay Carney also reassured a crowd last week that the event would happen as scheduled.

    More: Bo hunts for White House Easter Eggs

    Kid President helps Obama spread the word about Easter Egg Roll

    This story was originally published on Mon Mar 18, 2013 6:52 PM EDT

  • Kid President helps President Obama spread word about White House 'Egg Roll'

    White House / YouTube

    By Matt Murray, TODAY

    When President Obama wants the attention of the nation's kids, he knows exactly who to turn to: Kid President.

    In a promotional video for the upcoming White House Easter Egg Roll, the president calls on Kid President Robby Novak to inform his peers about the event. 

    9-year-old Novak gained national attention — even paying a visit to TODAY — for his series of YouTube videos, in which he portrays a Kid President whose aim is to make the world less boring.

    According to Recreation.gov, the White House Easter Egg Roll is a tradition dating back to 1878 and has grown to become the largest event held on White House grounds. The Egg Roll not only includes the tradition of having children roll eggs on the White House lawn, but now also features live entertainment, sporting events and interactive cooking demonstrations. 

    The free tickets for the White House Easter Egg Roll will be given out through an online lottery system which opened Monday morning. The lottery closes Feb. 25 at 10 a.m.

    The TODAY anchors meet Robby Novak, known on the Internet as "Kid President," and his brother-in-law Bradley Montague, who talk about their inspirational viral video.

    More on TODAY.com:
    'Kid President,' 9, is on a mission: To make grown-ups less boring
    Boy, 8, donates his $1,000 prize to little girl, 2, with leukemia
    18-year-old gives $40,000 scholarship to other teens

     

  • The TIME Person of the Year short list revealed

    By Rick Schindler, TODAY

    On Tuesday morning, TIME magazine's short list of eight potential choices for its iconic Person of the Year cover was revealed live on TODAY. The list includes Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo!; Mohammed Morsi, president of Egypt; Undocumented Americans; Bill and Hillary Clinton; President Barack Obama; Malala Yousafzai, the student activist from Pakistan who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban; Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple; and the Higgs Boson and Italian physicist Fabiola Giannati.

    As it has for the past 85 years, the weekly newsmagazine will select the person (or sometimes group, or thing) that its editors deem had the single greatest impact during the past year, for better or for worse. Last year's choice was The Protester.

    Some 5.6 million people have already voted in TIME's reader poll. On Dec. 13, TIME revealed that the winner was Kim Jong Un, supreme leader of North Korea.

    Also in the top 10 in TIME's reader poll: funnyman Jon Stewart; Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas; Burmese leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and Thein Sein; New Jersey's Gov. Chris Christie, and two choices who also made it onto the magazine's short list: Mohammed Morsi and Undocumented Immigrants.

    TIME's official choice will come from this short list of eight, and will be revealed Wednesday morning live on TODAY, on TIME.com, and via TIME's Twitter feed.

    Which is your pick?

     

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