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Obama's Birthday Gift to Michelle: Time Alone in Hawaii


First lady Michelle Obama looks out from the stage as President Barack Obama speaks to members of the military and their families in Anderson Hall at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Dec. 25, 2013, in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
First lady Michelle Obama looks out from the stage as President Barack Obama speaks to members of the military and their families in Anderson Hall at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Dec. 25, 2013, in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
U.S. President Barack Obama has given his wife Michelle a birthday present that many mothers can only dream of - time alone without the demands of children.

Her gift is to remain in the Pacific state of Hawaii, where the Obama family had a two-week vacation, to spend time with her friends ahead of her 50th birthday later this month.

President Obama and his two daughters, Sasha and Malia, left the warm breezes of the island of Oahu and boarded Air Force One late Saturday for the trip back to the icy winds of Washington. They returned to Washington at mid-morning Sunday.

It was not immediately clear when the first lady will return to the White House.

The president is expected to ratchet up his administration's push for an extension of emergency unemployment benefits, now that he has returned to Washington.

Obama and his advisers have been pressing Congress to extend the federal aid to help out-of-work Americans who are searching for jobs.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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