President Obama will not be deciding how many more American troops he will send to Afghanistan before leaving Thursday for the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation summit being held in Singapore.  The President will be spending a portion of Wednesday, Veterans Day, meeting with advisors in the Situation Room discussing Afghanistan and Pakistan.  This will be his eighth meeting on the topic.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says it's "doubtful" the troop annoucement will come before Thursday and "unlikely" the number would be revealed during the President's overseas trip. 

The President returns from Asia on November 19th.

President Obama received his most recent update on the situation at Fort Hood Monday morning at his presidential daily briefing.  He was briefed Thursday evening by FBI Director Robert Mueller after the incident unfolded.  Mueller also updated Mr. Obama on Friday morning with the latest developments.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters during Monday's briefing the President expects "no stone to be left unturned to figure out how and why this happened and to ensure that it never happens again."  The shooting is being jointly investigated by the military and the FBI. 

President Obama is traveling Tuesday to Texas for the memorial service.  He will meet with victims' family members and make remarks at the service.

It's fall harvest time at the White House and First Lady Michelle Obama showed a group of local Washington, DC school children what happens with some seeds, water and hard work. Mrs. Obama and the young farmers pulled carrots, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes and other vegetables from the small garden on the White House grounds. Mrs. Obama admitted she's already seen some of the bounty. "My girls and I, we got a couple of the sweet potatoes, she told the fifth graders, "these sweet potatoes are huge! They're huge."

She explained to the elementary school children that it cost less than $200 to grow the vegetables which have amounted to over 740 pounds. The food has been used by the White House chefs but most of it has been donated to local soup kitchens. Thursday's harvest recipient is "Miriam's Kitchen" which helps the homeless with free, healthy homemade meals.

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Eleven years after two men were attacked and left for dead, President Obama signed legislation named for them. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act expands existing hate crime protections to outlaw attacks based on sexual orientation or gender, in addition to race, color, religion or national origin. Matthew Shepard, a gay teenager, was pistol whipped and left to die on a cold Wyoming October night and James Byrd, an African American Texas man, was tied and dragged by a pickup truck until he too died. Incidents four months apart but forever linked by the nature of their brutality.

President Obama offered words of praise and encouragement to those who worked tirelessly on the Hate Crimes Prevention Act legislation. "You understand we must stand against crimes that are meant not only to break break bones but to break spirits. Not only to inflict harm but to instill fear," the President told a crowd of activists gathered in the East Room celebrating the legislation. The President cited statistics by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of more than 12,000 reported hate crimes based on sexual orientation over the last 10 years. He noted that many incidents are never even reported.

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President Obama is adding another meeting to his Afghanistan troop decision process. Friday he will meet with the Joint Chiefs at the White House where he will get input from other service branches on the proceedings. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters traveling with the President aboard Air Force One that Mr. Obama's decision "will come in the next several weeks or in the coming weeks." Gibbs would not say if the meeting with the Joint Chiefs is one of the last pieces of the decision-making process but admitted "we're getting certainly toward the end of it."

First Lady Michelle Obama and the Vice President's wife, Dr. Jill Biden, will be attending Game One of the World Series in New York City between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies.  They will be part Major League Baseball's dedication to America's veterans and their families.  Major League Baseball is dedicating the first four games of the World Series to community service.  Game One is focusing on the group "welcomebackveterans.org" which awards money to non-profit agenciesacross the country that target veterans' needs, including mental health and job training.    Earlier in the day, Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden will join Major League Baseball and the New York Yankees in visiting patients at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center in the Bronx. 

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Massachusetts Institute of Technology

12:30PM THE PRESIDENT delivers remarks challenging Americans to lead the global economy in clean energy

Special Pay Master, Kenneth Feinberg, denies taking "vindictive and punitive" actions against the seven companies whose executive compensation he cut.  The seven companies - Citigroup, Bank of America, General Motors, Chrysler, GMAC, Chrysler Financial and American International Group - all received about $250 billion in bailout funds.  Feinberg insists "getting the taxpayers money back" is the number one priority. He initially rejected all seven companies original compensation proposals for their highest paid 25 employees, calling them excessively generous.

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First Lady Michelle Obama aims to protect all children when she spoke about childhood obesity before an audience at Health and Human Services tuesday afternoon. "What does it mean that medical experts are warning that for the first time that the next generation is on track to having a shorter lifespan than this generation."

Mrs. Obama pointed out that many families are on a tight budget and working long hours so it's not always easy to put a well-balanced meal on the table. She mentioned her own struggle as a working mom dealing with two children before entering the White House and the words drive-thru were like "heaven."  Mrs. Obama remembers it was just two years ago that she was "coming home from an event and I was tired, tired, and knowing you are going home to an empty fridge and they don't want to eat. You don't want to argue. You want a peaceful meal," the First Lady told her laughing audience. "You want them to be quiet and eat. So you give in and get that takeout."

Her children's' pediatrician noticed a difference and suggested she might want to change what the girls were eating. Mrs. Obama urged the audience to add fruits and vegetables to meals and cut down on sugary drinks by switching soda with water. She even suggested standing in front of the television instead of sitting as a form of exercise.  "The best way to change your children's lives is to see them watching you change yours."