Obama Meets With Haiti's Preval March 10

Updated with video:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Obama and Haiti's President Rene Preval will speak to the press at 11:55 am eastern. It will be live streamed at WhiteHouse.gov. I'll post video when it's up. Preval's looking for the right kind of aid, such as seeds:

Haiti’s President René Préval visits the White House Wednesday to thank the United States for the hundreds of millions of dollars in aid provided since his country’s ruinous earthquake Jan.12. But he’s also coming to ask that continuing assistance not make matters worse.

Instead of more food donations, for example, Mr. Préval would like to see seeds coming into his country. Long-term debt relief is good, he will say, but cash to repair drainage systems and get schools up and running again will have a more immediate impact.

Préval’s visit, his first meeting with President Obama, comes as Haiti’s earthquake has fallen off front pages but as officials and members of Congress formulate plans for Haiti’s long-term revival and reconstruction. CSM

Obama Signs Paygo Into Law

From the White House

On Friday, February 12, 2010, the President signed into law:

H.J. Res. 45, the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, which increases the public debt limit from $12.394 trillion to $14.294 trillion; and establishes a statutory Pay-As-You-Go procedure requiring that new non-emergency legislation affecting tax revenue or mandatory spending not increase the Federal deficit.

Also today, the White House issued a statement on Haiti on its day of mourning--excerpt:

Nevertheless, the situation remains dire. Even before the earthquake, Haiti was the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Today, the need for food, shelter, medical supplies and basic security is enormous, and the coming rainy season will pose new challenges. Infrastructure that was destroyed in minutes will take years to rebuild. Guided by the roadmap for cooperation and coordination developed by the government of Haiti, the United States will support our Haitian partners as they transition from emergency assistance to recovery and long-term reconstruction. The United Nations continuing appeal for additional peacekeepers and police, as well as next month’s donors’ conference at the United Nations, offer important opportunities for countries around the world to help Haiti recover and rebuild.

Amidst unimaginable suffering, the people of Haiti have inspired the world with their faith, strength of spirit and determination to rebuild. In the difficult months and years to come, they will continue to have a friend and partner in the United States of America. Read more here.

U.S. Has Resumed Medical Flights From Haiti

Medical evacuation flights from Haiti were recently canceled after Gov. Charlie Crist said Florida hospitals were becoming over crowded. White House spokesman Tommy Vietor says flights have resumed:

“Since the earthquake, U.S. personnel have seen nearly 23,000 patients in Haiti. Additionally, we have worked to increase and strengthen domestic medical capacity by supporting a network of NGOs and local hospitals across the country. In limited instances where patients had medical needs that could not be met in Haiti, we have worked to transport them to hospitals in the United States for care. Given concerns about the strain on domestic health capacity, we worked to increase cooperation with our international partners, NGOs and states to expand access to additional facilities to care for Haitians who were gravely injured in the earthquake. Having received assurances that additional capacity exists both here and among our international partners, we determined that we can resume these critical flights. The flights are on track to resume in the next 12 hours. Patients are being identified for transfer, doctors are making sure that it is safe for them to fly, and we are preparing specific in-flight pediatric care aboard the aircraft where needed. Florida is identifying specific receiving facilities. The Government of Haiti has estimated that there are more than 200,000 injuries from the earthquake. We are working with the Haitian government and the international community to meet this urgent need and save lives.” Politico

8 Year Old Boy Obama Mentioned in State of the Union

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

82nd Airborne Rescues Another in Haiti After 14 Days

Osprey Aircraft in Haiti

Haiti Rescue 11 Days Later

Haiti called off the official rescue mission but many are still alive and being rescued. A 23-year-old man pulled from the rubble of a fruit and vegetable shop:

Write Off Haiti Donations for 2009 Taxes

Obama's first day as President

The Obamas will be able to write off $15,000, which was their donation. Mine was much smaller :-)

Taxpayers will be able to write off charitable donations to Haiti earthquake relief efforts when they file their 2009 taxes this spring, under a bill that received final congressional approval Thursday and headed to President Obama for his expected signature.

The Senate passed the bill on a voice vote Thursday. Obama has enlisted two former presidents -- George W. Bush and Bill Clinton -- to help raise money for quake victims.

Under current law, donors would have to wait until they file their 2010 returns next year to take the deductions. The bill would allow donations made by the end of February to be deducted from 2009 returns. WaPo

USNS Comfort Arrives in Haiti

Los Angeles Rescue Team in Action in Haiti

Doing California proud.
Let's hope "the big one" holds off in California until all the work is done in Haiti because most of the state's rescue teams are in Haiti. They will return well practiced. The rescue team gets big applause:

Update from USNS Comfort:

Hillary Clinton's Long List for Haiti

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Now Bill Clinton is in Haiti:

Obama Congratulates Red Cross - Video

$21 million by Twitter! USAID rescued 10 people today! Apparently, Obama also tweeted while he was at the Red Cross:

Digital history was made Monday when President Obama became the first commander-in-chief to "tweet" a message on the social networking site, though he had a little bit of help.

When Obama stopped at the headquarters of the American Red Cross' to promote aid to Haiti, a member of the agency's new media team wrote a message on Twitter.com telling people he had arrived.

"President Obama and the first lady are here visiting our disaster operation center right now," the Red Cross staffer wrote.

The new media staffer then asked the president to hit "Update" on the screen and Obama posted the item himself under the @RedCross handle at Twitter.com.

A moment later the Red Cross staffer posted a follow-up tweet: "President Obama pushed the button on the last tweet. It was his first ever tweet!" CNN

Obama tweets:

Doctor Breaks Down in Haiti

James Toth's reaction says it all.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

60 Minutes: Doctors on the Ground in Haiti

There are no Haitian doctors to be found, just doctors that are being flown in. As one doctor put it: people need to help, not go along in their lives in blindness. I wonder if the drug companies have offered up any of their antibiotics, pain killers or other medicines. How do you numb the pain while your hacksawing someone's leg off? After a Google check, pharma appears to have offered up $15 million. Here's a list of other corporate donors.

These people are amazing:

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Watch CBS News Videos Online

USNS Comfort Headed for Haiti

82nd Airborne in Haiti. The relief/rescue effort gets an official name: Operation Unified Response

American forces focus is getting food and water out of the airport:

Nine Navy Ships Setting up Seabase to Help Haiti

Sailors help injured American in Haiti

It's pretty awesome when our military can actually do good outside of war:

As of Saturday, the Navy had nine ships scheduled to support the people of Haiti through air, hospital and supply operations. The forces are creating a "sea base" for staging humanitarian operations to provide assistance as quickly as possible. A testament to the naval forces agile operational ability, these ships combined can produce more than 900,000 gallons of water each day, a portion of which can be taken ashore to help relieve some suffering in Haiti. USNS Comfort, a Navy hospital ship, left Baltimore on Saturday morning after assembling a floating hospital of crew and supplies from around the nation. The ship has 250 hospital beds, four operation rooms and more than 500 medical staff. WH

More From Hillary in Haiti - Video

Hillary arrived on a cargo plane carrying supplies:

Obama Writes About Why Haiti Matters

Obama speaks with Haiti's president Rene Preval

Our writer in chief on why we need to care about Haiti:

But above all, we act for a very simple reason: in times of tragedy, the United States of America steps forward and helps. That is who we are. That is what we do. For decades, America's leadership has been founded in part on the fact that we do not use our power to subjugate others, we use it to lift them up—whether it was rebuilding our former adversaries after World War II, dropping food and water to the people of Berlin, or helping the people of Bosnia and Kosovo rebuild their lives and their nations.
At no time is that more true than in moments of great peril and human suffering. It is why we have acted to help people combat the scourge of HIV/AIDS in Africa, or to recover from a catastrophic tsunami in Asia. When we show not just our power, but also our compassion, the world looks to us with a mixture of awe and admiration. That advances our leadership. That shows the character of our country. And it is why every American can look at this relief effort with the pride of knowing that America is acting on behalf of our common humanity. Read it all

Obama ends:

In the aftermath of disaster, we are reminded that life can be unimaginably cruel. That pain and loss is so often meted out without any justice or mercy. That "time and chance" happen to us all. But it is also in these moments, when we are brought face to face with our own fragility, that we rediscover our common humanity. We look into the eyes of another and see ourselves. And so the United States of America will lead the world in this humanitarian endeavor. That has been our history, and that is how we will answer the challenge before us.

Read Bill Clinton and George Bush's op-ed in the NYT here.

Hillary Clinton on the Ground in Haiti Video

Hillary is staying at the Port-au-Prince airport so that she doesn't use a vehicle for aid transport.

This is raw footage of an American air base, where planes are being loaded up with supplies and headed to Haiti. There are no commentators commentating, which in my opinion, makes it all the more interesting:

Hillary brings supplies:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Wyclef's Brother Says Money is Being Used Wisely

Update: Wyclef is mad.

There have been some reports that Wyclef Jean's charity, Yele, isn't managed so well. But Wyclef's brother Sam says the money is being put to good use. He also says Yele has collected more than $1 million so far. ABC reported Jan. 14 that Yele raised $1 million in one day.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy