First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks during the "42" film workshop in the State Dining Room of the White House, April 2, 2013. Workshop participants included, from left, Brian Helgeland, Chad Boseman, Harrison Ford, Rachel Robinson, and moderator Paulette Aniskoff. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

First Lady Michelle Obama today hosted 80 high school and college students from across the country for a screening of "42," followed by an interactive workshop with the cast and crew of the movie. "42" tells the story of Jackie Robinson, the very first African American to play major league baseball. The panel was moderated by Paulette Aniskoff, Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, and featured Harrison Ford, Chadwick Boseman and Brian Helgeland.

The discussion focused on the inspirational themes from Robinson's life that students -- who came from Thurgood Marshall Academy in Washington, DC; Watkins Mill High School in Gaithersburg, MD; TC Williams High School in Alexandria, VA and Amino Jackie Robinson Charter High School in Los Angeles, CA -- can apply to their own.  

Also joining the conversation was Rachel Robinson, Jackie Robinson's widow and his partner throughout his incredible life's journey. And as Mrs. Obama explained to the young crowd, Mrs. Robinson's example can be their guide. "Jackie and Rachel Robinson weren't destined for greatness -- they prepared themselves for greatness, which meant that they could make a difference outside of baseball, as well. And that is the only thing that is important for you to understand. You can be great in your profession, you can earn a lot of money, you can be famous, but the question is what are you doing for others."

Note: Want to learn more about the BRAIN Initiative? Watch Tom Kalil, Innovation Advisor; Dr. Francis Collins, Director of National Institutes of Health; and Dr. Arati Prabhakar, Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) discuss the new research effort in an Open for Questions session.

Today at the White House, President Obama unveiled the “BRAIN” Initiative—a bold new research effort to revolutionize our understanding of the human mind and uncover new ways to treat, prevent, and cure brain disorders like Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, autism, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury.

The BRAIN Initiative — short for Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies — builds on the President’s State of the Union call for historic investments in research and development to fuel the innovation, job creation, and economic growth that together create a thriving middle class.

The Initiative promises to accelerate the invention of new technologies that will help researchers produce real-time pictures of complex neural circuits and visualize the rapid-fire interactions of cells that occur at the speed of thought. Such cutting-edge capabilities, applied to both simple and complex systems, will open new doors to understanding how brain function is linked to human behavior and learning, and the mechanisms of brain disease.

President Barack Obama is introduced by Dr. Francis Collins, Director, National Institutes of Health, at the BRAIN Initiative event in the East Room of the White House, April 2, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

In his remarks this morning, the President highlighted the BRAIN Initiative as one of the Administration’s “Grand Challenges” – ambitious but achievable goals that require advances in science and technology to accomplish. The President called on companies, research universities, foundations, and philanthropies to join with him in identifying and pursuing additional Grand Challenges of the 21st century—challenges that can create the jobs and industries of the future while improving lives.

In addition to fueling invaluable advances that improve lives, the pursuit of Grand Challenges can create the jobs and industries of the future.

Our national pastime and our Nation’s leaders have shared a unique relationship for some 150 years. Presidents throwing out first pitches or hosting World Series winners at the White House are familiar images from each baseball season.

The connection between Presidents and baseball stretches back as far as Abraham Lincoln.  According to research conducted for the 1939 Major League Baseball Centennial Celebration, Lincoln was playing baseball in Springfield, Illinois, when he was informed that the Chicago Republican Convention had nominated him as the Presidential candidate. Lincoln is reported to have responded, “They will have to wait a few minutes until I get my next turn at bat.” A year later when he arrived at the White House in 1861, baseball’s popularity had caught on in Washington, D.C.  As President, Lincoln is said to have played baseball on the White House lawn.

Ed note: This livestream has concluded.

Today, the President and First Lady will host more than 30,000 people from all 50 states on the South Lawn of the White House for the 135th annual Easter Egg Roll. The curated live stream (above) is new this year, and features historic facts about egg rolls past and will highlight select events throughout the day. 

Check out the complete Easter Egg Roll line-up, and go to WH.gov/live to watch additional live streams, including a feed from the Storytime Stage, where this year's readers include NASCAR’s Danica Patrick, Minnesota Viking Adrian Peterson, Elmo, Abby, Gordon and Rosita from Sesame Street, the full cast of Super Sprowtz, The Wanted, and actress Quvenzhané Wallis, or you can tune in to the Rocking Egg Roll Stage to see performances from Jordin Sparks, Austin Mahone, Coco Jones, Sesame Street, and The Wanted. You can also watch cooking demonstrations of healthy family favorites from top chefs at the Play with Your Food station, and of course you can follow all the day's action on social media using the hashtag #EasterEggRoll or on Storify, below.

The 2013 #EasterEggRoll "Be Healthy, Be Active, Be You!"

On Monday, April 1st 2013, the President and First Lady will host more than 30,000 people from all 50 states on the South Lawn of the White House for the 135th annual Easter Egg Roll. Watch live streams from the event at WH.gov/live and check out some highlights from the #EasterEggRoll below.

Storified by Let's Move!· Fri, Mar 29 2013 16:20:53

Kids Dancing, Eggs Rolling, Tune in!

For more information head to WH.gov/EasterEggRoll. 

Watch the West Wing Week here.

Middle East Trip: Last Friday, President Obama wrapped up his visit to the Middle East. The President paid respects with a visit to Mount Herzl where he honored two Jewish heroes, Theodor Herzl and former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Then President Obama took a tour of Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Complex.

Later, President Obama joined Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the West Bank where they toured the crypt containing the birthplace of Jesus.

The President then traveled to Jordan, the final stop of his trip, where he was greeted at Al-Hummar Palace in Amman by King Abdullah II and his son, Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah. The President participated in an official welcoming ceremony followed by a series of events in Jordan.

Check out our Middle East trip gallery and visit our Middle East page for more information.

Remembering Sandy Hook: On Thursday, President Obama promised Americans he had not forgotten about the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy. Standing with parents and teachers of gun violence victims, the President pressed Congress to pass legislation to protect our children and our communities.

And I want to make sure every American is listening today. Less than 100 days ago that happened, and the entire country was shocked. And the entire country pledged we would do something about it and that this time would be different. Shame on us if we've forgotten. I haven't forgotten those kids. Shame on us if we've forgotten.

In January, the President put out a series of common-sense proposals to reduce gun violence. Download the plan here.

“The role of citizens in our democracy does not end with your vote. America’s never been about what can be done for us. It’s about what can be done by us together through the hard and frustrating, but necessary work of self-government.” -- President Barack Obama, November 7, 2012

Since the first day of the Obama Administration, the Federal government has worked to make government more efficient, effective, and responsive to citizens’ needs. The Administration has harnessed new technology to engage the public, worked to disclose information more quickly, and given citizens a greater voice in decision-making.

In September 2011, the Administration’s work was launched on the world stage when President Obama and other world leaders endorsed the principles of the global Open Government Partnership (OGP). As part of our commitment to OGP, the United States launched the National Action Plan, a set of twenty-six concrete commitments that help increase public integrity, promote public participation, manage public resources more effectively, and improve public services. Praised by civil society organizations and the public, the Plan stands as a great example of what we can do as a country when government, civil society, and the public collaborate together. As the President has said, “Put simply, our countries are stronger when we engage citizens beyond the halls of government.” 

Today, we are proud to report that the United States has fulfilled twenty-four of those commitments. You can read more about the implementation of our National Action Plan here. Some highlights include:

Newtown. Today, the name of the town itself immediately conjures many images and emotions for people throughout our country. After visiting Newtown myself yesterday I am left with the memory of two words specifically -- perseverance and character.

I was privileged to visit the Newtown Prevention Council, a drug free communities coalition dedicated to reducing substance abuse in Newtown, Connecticut. The Council has been in existence since 1986 and seeks to help young people and families make decisions in support of healthy and substance-free lifestyles. But as with all prevention focused coalitions they also strengthen family and build resiliency and self-reliance for a community.

I asked them if the presence of their Coalition had helped them since the tragedy that rocked their community on December 14. To a person, they agreed it had. Coalition members include faith leaders, the chief of the Newtown police department, public and private school principals, counselors, health care professionals including a school nurse and emergency room doctor, high school students and several other community members.

In the face of unspeakable tragedy, the strength of this community has come through. Community members and members of this coalition support one another and cultivate the core characteristics of a town that will be known not just for the tragedy it has been through but for its resilience and character. The community coalition has done great work in Newtown to reduce underage drinking and substance use. Using evidence based techniques they work to give parents and young people the tools they need to lead healthy lives. And they build trusting relationships among the participants, relationships that pay huge dividends when tragedy strikes.

In honor of Women’s History Month, last week, we welcomed a group of high school students to participate in a conversation with a mentoring panel at the White House. It was followed by a celebration in the East Room with President Obama and the First Lady. Here are some of the highlights and interviews from the panelists and attendees:  

Earlier today, the White House invited innovators from around the country to join a Google+ Hangout to discuss the Maker Movement, a growing community of young people and adults who are designing and building things on their own time.

White House innovation advisor Tom Kalil moderated the conversation with participants including: 11-year-old Super Awesome Sylvia, creator of the Super Awesome Maker Show; Dale Dougherty, founder of MAKE Magazine and creator of Maker Faire; Tara Tiger Brown, co-founder and executive director at LA Makerspace; Saul Griffith, co-founder of Otherlab; and Venkatesh Prasad, Ford technical leader. And in a first for White House Hangouts, a robot joined too.

During the Hangout, participants discussed the elements of an "all hands on deck" effort to elevate Making and also share their ideas on how we can get more young people interested in STEM education (science, technology, engineering and math). Here's what you missed:

We'll continue to host hangouts with key members of the Administration on a range of issues. Follow the White House on Google+ for updates from the Administration and opportunities to participate in upcoming Hangouts.