Royal Baby Welcomed By Obama, First Family

President Barack Obama issued a statement Monday on Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton giving birth to a baby boy, her first child with Prince William.

 

Obama's statement read:

Michelle and I are so pleased to congratulate The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the joyous occasion of the birth of their first child. We wish them all the happiness and blessings parenthood brings. The child enters the world at a time of promise and opportunity for our two nations. Given the special relationship between us, the American people are pleased to join with the people of the United Kingdom as they celebrate the birth of the young prince

Earlier Monday, White House press secretary Jay Carney said the first family had been waiting with "anticipation" for news on the birth.

Middleton, who was admitted to the hospital on Monday morning, gave birth at 4:24 p.m. London time. The child weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces, according to palace officials.

Obama Launching Speech Series On Economy Ahead Of Budget Showdown(1)

Drawing renewed attention to the economy, President Barack Obama will return this week to an Illinois college where he once spelled out a vision for an expanded and strengthened middle class as a freshman U.S. senator, long before the Great Recession would test his presidency.

The address Wednesday at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., will be the first in a new series of economic speeches that White House aides say Obama intends to deliver over the next several weeks ahead of key budget deadlines in the fall. A new fiscal year begins in October, and the government will soon hit its borrowing limit.

The speech comes just a week before Congress is scheduled to leave for its monthlong August recess and is designed to build public pressure on lawmakers in hopes of averting the showdowns over taxes and spending that have characterized past budget debates.

In his economic pitch, Obama will talk about efforts to expand manufacturing, sign up the uninsured for health care coverage, revitalize the housing industry and broaden educational opportunities for preschoolers and college students. He will also promote the economic benefits of an immigration overhaul.

The White House is promoting the speech as part of an arc of economic messages from the president that began at Knox College in 2005, when Obama was in his first year in the Senate. Since then, Obama has sought to raise the profile of his economic agenda with periodic speeches, including one at Georgetown University in Washington in 2009 and one in Osawatomie, Kan., in 2011. The White House posted a video highlighting Obama's previous economic addresses.

The president will also speak Wednesday at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Mo.

Obama's focus on the economy comes as he has experienced a degree of success with the Senate, which passed an overhaul of immigration laws and unclogged a Republican blockade against several presidential nominations. It also reflects a belief at the White House that the administration has been able to manage a series of confrontations with Congress over the Internal Revenue Service, phone surveillance of Americans and the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Zachary Quinto and Jonathan Groff Call It Quits, Remain Friends

Zachary Quinto and Jonathan Groff have called it quits as a couple, several outlets report, although they apparently have been dunzo for a while now.
The "Star Trek Into Darkness" star and the "Glee" guest actor broke up last spring, according to Gossip Cop and Us Weekly. While both outlets report that they remain good friends, Perez Hilton claims that things did "not end well." The couple reportedly started dating in early 2012.

Us Weekly points out that it was distance that put a strain on the relationship. "Zach being away and filming was not easy on them," a source tells the mag. "Now he's going to be in New York with his new play ['The Glass Menagerie']. They really loved each other, so it wasn't an easy split."

As mentioned, the thespians are on friendly terms. According to JustJared.com, Quinto went to see Groff perform recently on stage (Groff appeared this spring in L.A. Theatre Works's production of the play "Red," as well as a one-night only benefit performance of "The Pirates of Penzance" in NYC on June 10).

But the couple hasn't been photographed together since back in February, when they were seen out walking their dogs together in Boston. Quinto was snapped walking the pups with a mystery man in NYC in early June.

California officials brace for more unrest after Trayvon Martin verdict(2)

Police Commander Andrew Smith said minor infractions tolerated by police on Sunday and Monday, such as blocking traffic, would not be overlooked on Tuesday.

The LAPD's show of force would be "significantly above" the 300 to 350 officers who were on the scene Monday night, he said, adding: "The message is very clear: We expect everyone to act in a lawful manner."

 

A statement signed by Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and other city officials called the death of Trayvon Martin "a tragic event felt throughout the community."

"We understand the verdict announcement is an emotional one. We are committed to supporting peaceful assembly and freedom of speech," it added.

Civic leaders planned to deploy a team of "peace monitors" on street corners, said community activist Earl Ofari Hutchinson.

He said opportunism from trouble-makers seeking to exploit the situation was a factor on Monday, but the Zimmerman acquittal was also the latest flashpoint for pent-up anger, frustration and a sense of disconnect within the community.

"Many are angry over the (Zimmerman verdict); they think it was unjust," he said.

In San Francisco, a group that organized protests of the Zimmerman acquittal in various cities was planning a demonstration on Tuesday to mark the second anniversary of another fatal shooting with racial overtones, the killing of a black bus passenger by police after he failed to pay his fare.

The group, Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, threatened to shut down San Francisco's MUNI bus service on Tuesday afternoon in an act of civil disobedience. City transit authorities reported that two bus lines were blocked by protesters during the late-afternoon rush hour but were later cleared.

California officials brace for more unrest after Trayvon Martin verdict(1)

Police and civic leaders appealed for calm but braced for more unrest on Tuesday after nearly two dozen protesters were arrested in Los Angeles and Oakland in a second night of unrest sparked by the not-guilty verdict in the shooting of Trayvon Martin.

Los Angeles police said the disturbances involved about 150 people who broke off from an otherwise peaceful prayer vigil for Martin, the unarmed black teenager who was killed last year by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida.

The white-Hispanic man who shot Martin, George Zimmerman, was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter on Saturday after a three-week trial. The verdict in the racially charged case has stirred demonstrations across the country.

In the predominantly black Crenshaw District of Los Angeles, vandals set trash on fire, smashed windows and assaulted a television news crew during several hours of unrest on Monday night.

Fourteen people were arrested, most of them for failing to disperse, police said. One person was arrested during similar outbursts on Sunday night.

In Oakland, across the bay from San Francisco, about 250 protesters swarmed downtown streets on Monday night, vandalizing cars and businesses and scrawling graffiti. Nine people were arrested.

No serious injuries were reported in either city. But officials called for demonstrators to keep rallies peaceful.

"The trial that we saw in Florida has ignited passions, but we have to make sure that it will not ignite this city," Mayor Eric Garcetti told a late-night news conference.

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck, appearing with the mayor, warned that officers would take "a much stricter posture in the way that we deal with people taking the streets" around Crenshaw and urged parents to keep children away from protests.