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The final day of President Obama's Asia trip turned into a once in a lifetime experience for a small group of reporters and White House staffers who were taken on a tour of the DMZ, the demilitarized zone between South Korea and its mysterious neighbor to the north, North Korea.

The ride out of Seoul, the South Korean Capital of 12 million people, took about an hour. As we drove along the Han River, we noticed South Korean guard posts every few hundred feet and barbed wire rolling down the banks.

It was an eerie feeling approaching the DMZ as we came up a few checkpoints with anti-vehicle spikes and roadblocks making for delicate driving. Seeing a U.S. soldier salute our van as we drove through made us feel that we had arrived at Camp Bonifas, the United Nations Joint Security Area that comprises the border and is run by the U.S.

Once we got through the first gate, a public affairs officer and a security officer got on board and gave us some basic ground rules, like where we could and could not take pictures. We were all given purple "press" armbands to wear, so we were seen as noncombatants. Our security officer was wearing a yellow one, meaning that he was armed.

We drove past the first few gates and were told not to take any pictures for a while. We passed through security areas, an anti-tank wall and minefield and drove through rice fields before arriving at a large, modern looking, grey stone and glass building. We entered the building and went up an escalator and out another door. We were instructed to stand outside, atop a small set of stairs.

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BEIJING -- When he's not been pressing the Chinese on human rights, or asking them to change their economic policy, or seeking their help on stopping North Korea and Iran's nuclear weapons programs, President Obama is taking in the sights of Beijing.

Between high level meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao and a formal and lavish state dinner last night, the president toured the Forbidden City, once the home of the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

While the president didn't see all of the 9,999 buildings in the 178 acre complex, he did see the Hall of Central Harmony, the Hall of Preserving Harmony, the Central Garden and the Imperial Garden, where the ruling families spent leisure time.

Mr. Obama signed a guest book at the bowed to his tour guides. "Thank you, it was a wonderful tour," he said.

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(SHANGHAI, China) As President Obama makes his first trip to China as president, he faces some tough negotiations with the rising economic power of Asia.

The U.S. relationship with China is crucial to White House goals on some of its top priorities: de-nuclearizing Iran and North Korea, global climate change and reviving the economy. But, it is the economy that may be the hardest issue for Mr. Obama to deal with because China and the U.S. fuel each other's bad habits.

Of all the arcane terms for the issue -- currency manipulation, hard pegs, non-convertible currency or rebalancing -- what it really comes down to is a "mutually reinforcing drug addiction," said Mike Green of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Green explains how it works: "We get cheap goods, they get great exports and economy growth, they get stuck with a lot of dollars, they don't want their currency to be convertible because that would mean they lose control of domestic, social and economic and political tools, so they recycle it back to the U.S., we get to keep borrowing more money, and so the cycle goes on," he said.

In other words, the U.S. buys Chinese goods. We pay them in U.S. dollars. They don't put the U.S. dollars back into their economy through their currency, the Yuan, because it is not convertible. Instead, they use those dollars to buy U.S. treasuries, our debt -- more than one trillion dollars worth, more than any other country. By financing our debt, the U.S. can spend more money on stimulus, wars, health care, and the debt rises, and China buys more and more of it.

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The traveling press of the White House press corps is pretty used to our White House, the big white building at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC. It’s an old building, full of quirks, chipped paint and history. What used to be a swimming pool, used by past presidents, is now a tile-lined pit full of electronics and miles of cables for television. Above it is the White House briefing room.

So it was a rare treat yesterday for the press to see the Japanese White House. It’s not called that of course, it's called the Kantei and it is a complex that hosts the prime minister’s residence and an official office building. The U.S. White House itself holds the residence of the First Family, the press operations, and of course, the Oval Office itself. Other offices of the so-called Executive Office of the President are housed in various buildings around the residence.

The office building at the Kantei is an ultra-modern fete of architecture. A beautiful glass building that looks like a miniature Kennedy Center, instead of the stately, federal style White House that we know.

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As President Obama was leaving the White House for his trip to Japan, he announced he would host a Jobs Summit next month. With unemployment over 10 percent, he said the summit is needed: "Millions of Americans -- our friends, our neighbors, our family members -- are desperately searching for jobs," said the president.

Jobs and the economy are going to be the key issue on his trip to Asia. While other diplomatic issues are on the agenda, specifically nuclear weapons issues with Iran and North Korea as well as global climate change, no issue is as pressing as the economy.

"Asian economies, in particular China, are emerging from the economic crisis stronger and earlier than almost anyone else. So these countries are assuming much greater roles in the global system," said Evan Feigenbaum of the Council on Foreign Relations. "I think the trip to Asia is in part a recognition of that."

Specifically, President Obama will wrestle with the issue of free trade, trying to make sure emerging Asian markets are open to U.S. made goods. He will be attending a major economic summit while here, but the president does not have any new free trade agreements to announce with Asian markets.

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Updated 1:56 p.m. ET

Walking into a raucous ovation, President Obama actually appeared to be touched by the reception he was given at the AFL-CIO convention in Pittsburgh.

"You're making me blush," he said, uttering a series of "thank yous" for the prolonged applause that greeted Mr. Obama at this campaign rally-like event.

"You know, the White House is pretty nice, but there's nothing like being back in a house of labor," he added, to even more applause.

Introducing the president was outgoing AFL-CIO head John Sweeney, who declared that labor is the wind behind the president's back in his fight for health care.

He also took a swipe at some of the opponents to health care, calling some their language "Outrageous disrespect for Barack Obama, the presidency itself and the millions of Americans who elected him."

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MARTHA'S VINEYARD, Mass. -- On Sunday, Martha's Vineyard added yet another famous name to its roster of celebrities and politicians who come to the island for vacation. Actually, there are five names to add: President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, first daughters Sasha and Malia, and the world's most famous Portuguese water dog, Bo.

The first family arrived here for a week or rest and relaxation. The island, off the coast of Massachusetts was already the vacation home of former President Bill Clinton, is home to actor Ted Danson, songwriter Carly Simon and was home to CBS’s late great Walter Cronkite.

As a candidate, Mr. Obama was here for a fundraiser in 2007, but this is his first visit as president to Massachusetts. The president has no public schedule and had an aide deliver a message to the White House press corps here: relax and have a good time. The first family is saying “up-island” which is actually south on the island, at a private home. The house comes complete with private beach and water access so he may not been seen too much while here. He is expected to play golf though and the island's many ice cream shops are hoping he stops by with the kids.

Other than that, the vineyard will be a welcome respite for him. There are many signs welcoming him here and both his likeness and his campaign symbol can be found in many store windows. As the video shows, there's also a wide selection of Obama-related t-shirts and paraphernalia to buy. The island appears to be quite excited for his visit.

You can watch video below of the scene in Martha's Vineyard:






Robert Hendin is a CBS News White House producer. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here.

PHOENIX - A few thousand people have gathered in downtown Phoenix to protest or show support for President Obama. Various groups are on all sides of the Phoenix Convention Center where Mr. Obama is scheduled to address the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention.

At first, the most vocal of the protestors were pro-health care reform and pro-Obama. Many were sporting Obama-Biden campaign t-shirts, buttons, stickers -- the works.

A spokeswoman for the Arizona Democratic Party says that people have been calling their offices wanting to get involved. After seeing the rage and rancor at congressional town halls around the country, many Democrats here have been looking for ways to have their voices heard, calling or e-mailing the state party asking "where can we show our support." The state party and groups such as the Obama campaign arm, Organizing for America, used social networking, e-mails and traditional word of mouth to mobilize their supporters.

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In a rare public speech, President Obama's top adviser for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism said that fulfilling the President's promise to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is the one of the "most challenging issues" that the administration is dealing with.

"Because there are so many different dimensions to this. In terms of prosecutions, whether it's under article three or military commission or transfers or releases or preventative detentions or whatever," John Brennan said in response to a question at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "It is our full intention to close down Guantanamo Bay per the president's direction. And we are doing everything possible that we are able to meet that directive and meet that deadline."

When pressed about the difficulty in meeting the January 2010 deadline for closing the prison, Brennan seemed to suggest that the meeting that goal could come down to the wire.

"I don't have a crystal ball that I can say with certainty because at this point, it is unknowable exactly how many people will be transferred in the next week, month, several months and what the conditions on the ground will be on 1 January and 21 January," said Brennan. "What I'm saying to you as a fact, is that everybody is doing everything possible within the administration to realize the president's goal."

He added that he hopes Congress will work with the administration to bring justice to the families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks and that those responsible for the attacks will be brought to trial.

Robert Hendin is a CBS News White House producer. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here.

With the majority of Americans still not seeing direct impact from the Recovery Act, and criticism mounting as unemployment hovers around 10 percent, President Obama today took direct aim at critics, telling a town hall audience in North Carolina, that he was going to lay out the facts, because "there's a lot of misinformation" out there.

"I think some folks are confused," he said, talking about the impact of the $787 Billion stimulus package that he signed into law in February.

The president took it upon himself to be the informer in chief, with a new defense of the stimulus act and enlisting those in the audience to help fight the negative spin. "I know a lot of people think, oh, this is just blowing up government and wasting money. Let me describe exactly where this money went, just so, if your friends or neighbors talk to you, you can -- you can give them the right information."

He said the stimulus bill had three main parts. Number one he said, was tax relief. "Ninety-five percent of you got a tax cut," he said.

While he noted that many may not have noticed that tax cuts because the cuts came in a gradual reduction of payroll taxes, he was emphatic that they have been effective. "And all those folks who are complaining about growing government and all that stuff? We are actually cutting your taxes, giving your money back so you can spend it. That's a third."

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