Ben Rhodes with the National Security Council (NSC) makes remarks during a webcast administered through the White House’s website during Day 2 of the Nuclear Security Summit in Downtown Washington, D.C. (:41)

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Ben Rhodes with the National Security Council (NSC) makes remarks during a webcast administered through the White House’s website during Day 2 of the Nuclear Security Summit in Downtown Washington, D.C. (:31)

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Ben Rhodes with the National Security Council (NSC) makes remarks during a webcast administered through the White House’s website during Day 2 of the Nuclear Security Summit in Downtown Washington, D.C. (:24)

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First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden paid a surprise visit to Haiti Tuesday as the Caribbean nation continues to recover from the tragic earthquake that hit just three months prior.
“[Michelle Obama and Jill Biden] are visiting Haiti to underscore to the Haitian people and the Haitian government the enduring U.S. commitment to help Haiti recover and rebuild,” the White House said in a written statement. “They will also reach out to the UN and international relief communities in recognition of the truly global effort underway to help Haiti.”
The two women arrived in the capital city of Port Au Prince and proceeded to take a helicopter tour of the area. They then met with Haitian President Rene Preval and his wife Elisabeth Delatour Preval.
After Haiti, the First Lady is scheduled to arrive in Mexico, where she will stay till Thursday.

President Barack Obama outlined the grave threat posed by vulnerable nuclear materials Tuesday during the opening of the Nuclear Security Summit’s second day.
“Nuclear materials that could be sold or stolen and fashioned into a nuclear weapon exist in dozens of nations,” Obama said to the delegations of the 47 nations attending the D.C. based summit. “Just the smallest amount of plutonium, about the size of an apple, could kill and injure hundreds of thousands.”
The president urged international cooperation in confronting the danger.
“We have the opportunity as individual nations to take specific and concrete actions to secure the nuclear materials in our countries and to prevent illicit trafficking and smuggling,” Obama said.
Obama stressed that international efforts should not be “a fleeting moment” but rather “part of a serious and sustained” mission.
Tuesday’s summit marks the largest gathering of foreign diplomats on U.S. soil since a meeting on the establishment of the United Nations in 1945. In 2012, South Korea will host a summit on nuclear security as well.

Ukraine will eliminate their entire stockpile of highly enriched uranium, a material used for the creation of nuclear arms, by 2012, the White House announced Monday.
“It’s enough for the construction of several nuclear weapons,” Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters.
Ukraine has become one of several nations to willfully restrict their nuclear capabilities. Others include South Africa and Kazakhstan, who both ended their nuclear weapons programs. Chile has given up all highly enriched uranium as well.
Gibbs could not answer where the uranium will be ultimately be stored, but noted the U.S. will be involved in its removal.
“The final disposition location has yet to be determined,” Gibbs said. “That’s a process that we’ll be working on.”
The press secretary added that the U.S. will provide technical and financial assistance in the elimination process, but could not provide the projected costs for the U.S.
The decision from the former Soviet state comes during a Nuclear Security Summit being held in Washington, D.C. this week.

The Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C. this week has granted President Barack Obama the opportunity to host a whirlwind series of bilateral meetings with foreign officials and heads of states.
On Sunday, President Barack Obama met with South African President Jacob Zuma, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Nigerian interim President Goodluck Johathan and Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani.
These meetings were followed by sessions with Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammad Najib Abdul Razak and Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Monday.
While the meetings are intended to address issues related to nuclear security, Ben Rhodes, a Deputy National Security Adviser, told reporters Sunday that Obama will discuss other important issues.
According to the White House, the U.S. president discussed the Middle East Peace Process during his meeting with Jordan’s delegation. During yesterday’s meeting with the Kazakhs, the recent coup in Kyrgyzstan, which borders Kazakhistan, was touched upon.
“They talked about ways we are reaching out to the new interim government,” Mike McFaul, the administration’s Senior Director for Russia and the Caucasus, said during a conference call with reporters.
The bilateral meetings were held both in the Blair House and the Washington Convention Center, which is hosting the Summit. The president is still slated to meet other leaders, including those from China and Turkey. Obama will host a working dinner Monday evening with the delegation’s heads.
Monday and Tuesday’s summit brings delegations from 47 countries to D.C. It is the largest gathering of heads of states in the U.S. since the initial meeting to form the United Nations in 1945.

Israel will be well represented at next week’s nuclear security summit, despite the absence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a senior Obama administration official told reporters Friday.
“They are sending their deputy prime minister [Dan Meridor] to head their delegation,” said Ben Rhodes, the Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, during a conference call. “He is the person within the Israeli government with the responsibility for the issues that will be discussed at the summit.”
Added Rhodes, “Israel will be represented by a very effective delegation.”
The Israeli prime minister announced that he would not attend the summit yesterday amid concerns that delegates from Turkey and Egypt would put pressure on Israel for allegedly maintaining a nuclear arsenal and not signing the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Netanyahu’s absence does not bode well for the U.S., whose relationship with Israel has been strained since the Israeli government announced that they will build housing settlements in East Jerusalem, a contested territory within the country. The controversial announcement took place while Vice President Joe Biden was in Israel on a diplomatic trip. It was viewed in some circles as an embarrassment for the Obama administration.
Netanyahu reportedly received an icy reception from the White House when he visited Washington soon after.
Next week’s summit will host delegations from 47 nations. It comes shortly after the U.S. signed an arms reduction treaty with Russia and released guidelines to tone-down the strategic influence of nuclear weapons.

During a brief appearance in the Rose Garden Friday, President Barack Obama addressed an announcement by Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens that he will retire at the end of the summer term. (2:31)

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Minutes after returning to the White House from his trip to Prague, President Barack Obama issued brief remarks on the devastating incident that took place Monday in Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia. (3:55)

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