Our national pastime and our Nation’s leaders have shared a unique relationship for some 150 years. Presidents throwing out first pitches or hosting World Series winners at the White House are familiar images from each baseball season.

The connection between Presidents and baseball stretches back as far as Abraham Lincoln.  According to research conducted for the 1939 Major League Baseball Centennial Celebration, Lincoln was playing baseball in Springfield, Illinois, when he was informed that the Chicago Republican Convention had nominated him as the Presidential candidate. Lincoln is reported to have responded, “They will have to wait a few minutes until I get my next turn at bat.” A year later when he arrived at the White House in 1861, baseball’s popularity had caught on in Washington, D.C.  As President, Lincoln is said to have played baseball on the White House lawn.

Click here to see the photo gallery.

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This morning, the White House released a special video message from the President. Watch it here:

Ed note: This livestream has concluded.

Today, the President and First Lady will host more than 30,000 people from all 50 states on the South Lawn of the White House for the 135th annual Easter Egg Roll. The curated live stream (above) is new this year, and features historic facts about egg rolls past and will highlight select events throughout the day. 

Check out the complete Easter Egg Roll line-up, and go to WH.gov/live to watch additional live streams, including a feed from the Storytime Stage, where this year's readers include NASCAR’s Danica Patrick, Minnesota Viking Adrian Peterson, Elmo, Abby, Gordon and Rosita from Sesame Street, the full cast of Super Sprowtz, The Wanted, and actress Quvenzhané Wallis, or you can tune in to the Rocking Egg Roll Stage to see performances from Jordin Sparks, Austin Mahone, Coco Jones, Sesame Street, and The Wanted. You can also watch cooking demonstrations of healthy family favorites from top chefs at the Play with Your Food station, and of course you can follow all the day's action on social media using the hashtag #EasterEggRoll or on Storify, below.

[View the story "The 2013 #EasterEggRoll \"Be Healthy, Be Active, Be You!\"" on Storify]
The 2013 #EasterEggRoll "Be Healthy, Be Active, Be You!" On Monday, April 1st 2013, the President and First Lady will host more than 30,000 people from all 50 states on the South Lawn of the White House for the 135th annual Easter Egg Roll. Watch live streams from the event at WH.gov/live and check out some highlights from the #EasterEggRoll below.

Storified by Let's Move!· Fri, Mar 29 2013 16:20:53

Kids dancing, eggs rolling. @iamkidpresident and President Obama announce the White House #EasterEggRoll: youtu.be/f1OHJUc2QTUThe White House

Kids Dancing, Eggs Rolling, Tune in!

For more information head to WH.gov/EasterEggRoll. 

 

President Obama uses his weekly address to mark a sacred time for the millions of Americans celebrating Easter and Passover, and he calls on everyone to use this time to reflect on the common values we share as a nation. The President says that this is a chance to embrace loved ones, give thanks for our blessings, and help those less fortunate as we celebrate our individual traditions as well as the thread of humanity that connects us all.

Transcript | Download mp4 | Download mp3

Watch the West Wing Week here.

Middle East Trip: Last Friday, President Obama wrapped up his visit to the Middle East. The President paid respects with a visit to Mount Herzl where he honored two Jewish heroes, Theodor Herzl and former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Then President Obama took a tour of Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Complex.

Later, President Obama joined Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the West Bank where they toured the crypt containing the birthplace of Jesus.

The President then traveled to Jordan, the final stop of his trip, where he was greeted at Al-Hummar Palace in Amman by King Abdullah II and his son, Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah. The President participated in an official welcoming ceremony followed by a series of events in Jordan.

Check out our Middle East trip gallery and visit our Middle East page for more information.

Remembering Sandy Hook: On Thursday, President Obama promised Americans he had not forgotten about the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy. Standing with parents and teachers of gun violence victims, the President pressed Congress to pass legislation to protect our children and our communities.

And I want to make sure every American is listening today. Less than 100 days ago that happened, and the entire country was shocked. And the entire country pledged we would do something about it and that this time would be different. Shame on us if we've forgotten. I haven't forgotten those kids. Shame on us if we've forgotten.

In January, the President put out a series of common-sense proposals to reduce gun violence. Download the plan here.

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President Barack Obama delivers remarks on infrastructure, at the Port of Miami Tunnel project in Miami, Fla., March 29, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

President Obama was in Florida today, where he got a chance to see the Port Miami tunnel project on Dodge Island. The project, which is the result of three years of work by over 500 employees and more than 6,000 sub-contractors and vendors, will connect the port to the interstate highway system more quickly and safely and will take over 1.5 million trucks out of the downtown area per year.

It is projects like this one, the President said in remarks following his tour, that will help reignite the true engine of our economic growth -- a rising, thriving middle class. "Projects like this create a lot of other good jobs, too," President Obama explained. "You ask any CEO where we they rather locate their business and hire new workers. Are you going to set up shop in a country that's got raggedy roads, runways that are pot-holed, and backed-up supply chains?  Or are you going to seek out high-speed rail, Internet, high-tech schools, new state-of-the-art power grids, new bridges, new tunnels, new ports that help you ship products made in America to the rest of the world as fast as possible? That's what people are looking for. That's what CEOs are looking for."  

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