Irene causes Obama to end holiday early

VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. (AP) — Taking his own advice not to linger at the beach, President Barack Obama cut short his family's vacation on Martha's Vineyard and headed back to Washington late Friday to await the landfall of a Hurricane Irene, which he warned could be a "historic" storm.

Joined by his wife, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha, Obama boarded his Marine One helicopter at the island's airport and took off for Cape Cod, where Air Force One waited to take them back to Washington.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the president felt it prudent to be back in Washington when Irene strikes the Eastern Seaboard.

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