Tagged with barack obama
NEW YORK CITY (BNO NEWS) – Actor and Activist Leonardo DiCaprio on Thursday donates $1 million to Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.
DiCaprio’s donation, disbursed through the Leonardo DiCaprio Fund, which fosters awareness of environmental issues, will help with immediate relief efforts as well as with longer-term redevelopment and infrastructure projects, including a focus towards sustainable development.
In the aftermath of the disaster, President Barack Obama asked President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush to raise funds to help those who are most in need of assistance.
As a result, the two Presidents established the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund to respond to unmet needs in the country, foster economic opportunity, improve the quality of life over the long term for those affected, and assist the people of Haiti as they rebuild their lives and “build back better.”
“I am grateful for the generous gift Leonardo DiCaprio and his Foundation have made in support of our Clinton Bush Haiti Fund,” President Clinton said. “Combined with the outpouring of donations from Americans and citizens around the world of all means, this support will go a long way to help save more lives, reach more people with emergency assistance, and help the Haitian people build their nation back stronger and more secure than it was before the earthquake.”
President George W. Bush thanked DiCaprio for his generosity, and said that this donation sends a clear message to the people of Haiti that America’s commitment to helping rebuild their country is strong.
The Leonardo Dicaprio Foundation was established in 1998 and has actively fostered awareness of environmental issues by participating with nonprofit organizations.
(Eds: Clarifies wordings to show book is written by two journalists, not by Reid himself.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNONEWS) — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called President Obama on Saturday to apologize over comments quoted by two journalists in a new book, the White House said.
“Harry Reid called me today and apologized for an unfortunate comment reported today,” President Obama wrote in a brief statement, referring to Reid’s comments in a book set to be published on Monday.
Reid was quoted by several reporters as saying Obama is “light skinned” and speaks “with no Negro dialect.” Reid’s office released a statement following the news reports and called his comments “a poor choice of words.”
“I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans, especially African Americans for my improper comments,” Reid said. “I was a proud and enthusiastic supporter of Barack Obama during the campaign and have worked as hard as I can to advance President Obama’s legislative agenda.”
President Obama accepted Reid’s apology, he said. “I accepted Harry’s apology without question because I’ve known him for years, I’ve seen the passionate leadership he’s shown on issues of social justice and I know what’s in his heart,” Obama wrote. “As far as I am concerned, the book is closed.”
