Presidents come and go from the White House every four year or eight years. But descendants of John Strother Ficklin, a Virginia man who was born enslaved, were a constant presence among presidents for nearly eight decades. A son, a grandson and other relatives served 13 presidents, from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Barack Obama. Son John Woodson Ficklin worked 44 years as a butler and maitre d' on the residence staff. Grandson John Wrory Ficklin spent 40 years on the National Security Council staff. Wrory Ficklin shares his family's story in his book, “An Unusual Path: Three Generations from Slavery to the White House.”
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Pakistan’s president says Afghan Taliban forces crossed a ‘red line’ with drone attacks on civilians
Pakistan's president says that Afghanistan’s Taliban government has “crossed a red line” with drone attacks that wounded several people a day earlier. He said on Saturday that the administration in Kabul has brought “grave consequences upon itself.” The strongly worded statement signaled a sharp escalation in tensions between Islamabad and Kabul as fighting along their border entered a third week despite diplomatic efforts by China and other countries to broker a ceasefire. On Friday, the Afghan Taliban government accused Pakistan of conducting airstrikes inside Afghanistan, saying at least six civilians were killed.
FILE - Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel attends the 17th annual BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Sunday and Monday in Paris for a new …
BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese mother of two had just awakened to prepare the pre-dawn meal before another day of fasting during the Muslim holy m…
MOSCOW (AP) — As U.S. and Israeli missiles and bombs rain on Iran, Russia has responded with words of indignation but no visible action to sup…
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani and Afghan forces launched multiple strikes at each other in cross-border clashes on Friday, and each side claimed …
FILE - Kosovo's President Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu speaks with the media as she arrives for an EU-Western Balkans Summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)
FILE -Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, left, speaks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, June 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana, File)
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka began transferring more than 200 sailors from an Iranian vessel to shore Friday after the ship sought assi…