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Transition: Michelle Obama’s mother, Marian Robinson, dies at 86

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Marian Robinson, the mother of former US First Lady Michelle Obama, has died at 86, her family has announced.

In a statement, the Obamas said that Robinson had died “peacefully” on Friday morning.

Robinson was a well-known fixture at the White House during the eight years of Barack Obama’s administration between 2009 and 2017.

She spent much of that time taking care of her two granddaughters, Michelle and Barack Obama’s daughters Malia and Sasha.

In a statement posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Mrs Obama called Robinson her “rock, always there for whatever I needed”.

“She was the same steady backstop for our entire family, and we are heartbroken to share she passed away today,” she wrote.

In a separate tweet, Mr Obama said that “there was and will be only one Marian Robinson”.

“In our sadness, we are lifted up by the extraordinary gift of her life,” he added. “And we will spend the rest of ours trying to live up to her example.”

No further details were given about the cause of death.

Born in 1937, Robinson grew up one of seven children in Chicago, the city where she spent much of her life before agreeing to come to Washington DC after Mr Obama’s electoral victory.

Early in her life, she studied to become a teacher before working as a secretary. She raised Michelle and her other child, Craig, together with her husband Frasier Robinson on Chicago’s South Side.

Obituary: Marian Robinson, Michelle Obama’s mother, dies

“At every step, as our families went down paths none of us could have predicted, she remained our refuge from the storm,” the Obama statement said.

“On Election Night in 2008, when the news broke that Barack would soon shoulder the weight of the world, she was there, holding his hand.”

An image taken on the night in 2008 when her son-in-law made history as the nation’s first African-American president showed Robinson sitting on a sofa with him, watching the results come in.

The statement added that Robinson had agreed to move to the White House after a “healthy nudge” from Barack and Michelle Obama, who, along with their daughters, “needed her”.

It was said that she insisted on doing her own laundry there.

In a later interview with CBS, the BBC’s US partner, Robinson said she felt compelled to move to Washington because she felt “like this was going to be a very hard life” for her daughter and son-in-law.

“And I was worried about their safety,” she added. “I was worried about my grandkids. That’s what got me to move to DC.”

Robinson – whom Mr Obama once called “the least pretentious person” he knew – said that it was a “huge adjustment” to have her needs met by White House staff.

“Rather than hobnobbing with Oscar winners or Nobel laureates, she preferred spending her time upstairs with a TV tray, in the room outside her bedroom with big windows that looked out at the Washington Monument,” the family statement said.

“The only guest she made a point of asking to meet was the Pope,” it added.

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Muhammad Buhari International Airport, Maiduguri, Commences International Operations

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January 2, 2025

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Muhammad Buhari International Airport, Maiduguri, Commences International Operations

Borno State Government donates two Fire Service Trucks to Muhammad Buhari International Airport, Maiduguri for smooth operations

Source: NTANewsNow

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Los Angeles: Plane travels back in time by leaving Hong Kong in 2025, reaching LA in 2024

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12 hours ago

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January 2, 2025

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  • Passengers on a flight to Los Angeles were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime journey that seemed to travel back in time
  • Their jetliner departed from Hong Kong on January 1, 2025, and crossed the International Date Line after six hours, reversing the calendar by a day
  • Cathay Pacific Flight 880 touched down at LAX on December 31, 2024, at about 8:30 pm, a day before their departure date

In a journey that appeared to defy the laws of time, Cathay Pacific Flight 880 departed from Hong Kong on January 1, 2025 and landed at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on New Year’s Eve 2024.

ABC News reports that the flight took off from Hong Kong International Airport just after midnight on January 1, 2025.

How Cathay Pacific Flight 880 travelled back in time

Traversing the vast Pacific Ocean, the jetliner crossed the International Date Line about halfway through its 12-hour journey.

The crossing reversed the calendar by a day, allowing the plane to arrive in Los Angeles on December 31, 2024.

The flight touched down at LAX shortly before 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, approximately 20 minutes ahead of schedule.

Passengers onboard effectively celebrated New Year’s Day twice, a rare temporal experience made possible by the interplay of time zones and international aviation.

Passengers love trans-Pacific flights to travel “back in time”

Passengers arriving at LAX were greeted with the festive hustle of New Year’s Eve celebrations, providing a unique end to their long-haul flight.

New York Post adds that this time-bending phenomenon is a regular occurrence for eastbound transpacific flights.

Over the years, passengers have been known to book eastbound trans-Pacific flights across New Year’s Eve to experience the holiday twice.

It highlights the fascinating quirks of global timekeeping, where a combination of speed, distance, and the International Date Line can seemingly transport passengers “back in time.”

December was dark month for airline industry

The drama-free Cathay Pacific flight gives a new lease of life to an airline industry that had a difficult ending in 2024.

In one of the worst airline disasters in recent times, nearly all 181 onboard Jeju Air Flight 7C 2216 died after it crashed at Muan International Airport in South Korea.

Only two crew members miraculously survived and were rescued from the Boeing 737-800’s tail section.

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Polygamous Ghanaian man, Michael Houston, and one of his two wives, Adepa Fel, are expecting their second child together.

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January 2, 2025

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Polygamous Ghanaian man, Michael Houston, and one of his two wives, Adepa Fel, are expecting their second child together.

 

Michael married Deejah and Adepa, the same day in 2023 in Accra.

 

Adepa shared her photos from her maternity shoot with Michael, Deejah and their children on Wednesday, January 1, 2025.

 

“Congratulations to us,” she captioned the post.

 

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