If you want to see the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony this year, you'll need to participate in the online lottery. The National Park Service and the National Park Foundation will host the lottery starting Wednesday, November 4 and ending November 6, 2009. The National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony is scheduled for 5pm on December 3 at the White House.

Approximately 2000 children and their families have been invited to join the Obama family tonight to celebrate Halloween. President Obama and First Lady Michelle have invited Washington area students and military families to "trick or treat" at the White House this year.

During the meltdown of Wall Street which resulted in numerous bailouts of huge financial institutions, all on the backs of taxpayers (and to be clear: done first by the Bush administration), a new theme has emerged. There will be no such thing as "too big to fail" in the future.

I receieved an email this morning from the White House. The White House is attempting to dispute lies and misinforamtion about Health care reform. In Particuar, the White House is responding to chain mails against Health care reform with a Chain mail of their own. Here is that email:

In a recent G8 meeting in Italy the presidents of USA, France and Russia called for a settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and yesterday the White House released the basic principles according to which the conflict may be settled if the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan agree in an upcoming meeting on July 17 in Moscow.

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are pleased to announce the 2009 White House Easter Egg Roll. The White House Easter Egg Roll will be held on Monday, April 13, 2009 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the South Lawn of the White House. Talented performers, special guests and thousands of visitors from all over the country are expected to attend this year.

During Monday's press briefing, CNN's Ed Henry asked Robert Gibbs to respond to Dick Cheney's withering attack on President Obama. Gibbs fired off a good one-liner in response, joking that apparently the GOP didn't have Rush Limbaugh available, so they trotted out Cheney, the "next most popular member of the Republican cabal."

Xavier de Souza Briggs, associate professor of sociology and urban planning in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, has been named associate director of the White House Office of Management and Budget and will be on a two-year professional leave effective Inauguration Day.

At noon EST on January 20th, change came not just to America, but to WhiteHouse.gov. Under the Constitution, President-elect Barack Obama became president at 12 noon EST, even though he had not formally been sworn in; the inaugural ceremonies were running behind schedule.

U.S. President George Bush will depart Washington for his ranch in Texas Tuesday, ending eight years as the nation's chief executive, and leaving a host of urgent problems for his successor. Mr. Bush will take part in a welcome-home ceremony in the town of Midland, Texas, before heading to his ranch in Crawford. The Bushes will eventually live in Dallas, but their house in that city is not yet ready.

President Elect Barack Obama has been asked to share his vision for autism to mark Autism Sunday which falls on 8th February 2009. Campaigners from the United States of America and others parts of the world have called on President Elect Obama to speak up for autism on Autism Sunday.

Today, President-elect Barack Obama announced the following key White House staff, Mona Sutphen, Jim Messina and Pete Rouse. Both Mona Sutphen and Jim Messina will serve as Deputy Chief of Staff, while Pete Rouse will serve as Senior Advisor.