on the one hand, like helen taft, she really was pushing. she was the engine of the this genial, not particularly impressive husband. about that. that added to the difficulty in her life. but nevertheless, she pushed him. "i seesame time she said one word written over the future: atrocity." she turned out to be a better astrologer. susan: she also did not server --did not survive her term in the white house. richard: she almost died 2 years into the presidency. he died august 1923. she lived almost a lifelong kidney condition, which had almost killed her more than once. it made her a semi-invalid. about florence harding, when they move into the .hite house after world war i the white house has really shut down in part because of security and the president's condition. she ordered that the shades be opened. straff on the remonstrated that it was not the custom during wartime. she said "let them look in, it's their house." susan: the film industry was being born in prominent, so we actually have a film of florence harding. this was there front

without helen taft, there would be no william howard taft in the white house. i will keep going, and you can stop me because i'm not the historian. but without william howard taft, there may not have been a angry theodore roosevelt, that messes a campaign, which put woodrow wilson in the white house. so here we go again. one woman's ambition starting this trajectory. richard: absolutely. an ohioan. she was among other things, one of the founders of the cincinnati symphony.

all of this started because of first lady helen taft. >> when helen taft became first lady in 1909, 1 of the first things she did was having cherry trees planted. there was a speedway where people raised their carriages at a top speed of 15 miles an hour, but there was nothing to draw people to make it a beautiful place for people to gather and enjoy nature, and helen taft wanted to change that. one of the first things she did when she became first lady was asked for trees to be planted. they were requested from nurseries, but the japanese heard about it and decided to give 2000 trees to the united states and her honor, from the city of tokyo to the city of washington as a gift honoring american support. 2000 trees arrived in january, 1910. everyone was shocked. the trees that were sent were tall and bug infested, so president taft himself made the decision that they would have to be burned. the japanese were very accommodating and understanding and decided to send 3000 trees, which arrived in 1912. of the the north section title basin in view of the washington monument where many of

helen taft wanted to change that. things she didt was to ask for trees to be planted. they were requested from nurseries in pennsylvania. the japanese heard about her interests, and they decided to give 2000 trees to the united states in her honor. the city of tokyo to the city of washington, as a gift, honoring the american support of japan in the rossetto-japanese war. the trees arrived in 1910. the trees that percent were older and very tall and bug infested. it was decided they would have to be burned. president taft made the decision that they would be earned. were accommodating an understanding decided to send 3000 trees, which arrived in 1912, and it is those that we still have a few up. this is the north section of the title a sin, where -- tidal basin where many of the trees were planted. and have are wider, gnarly branches. this is where helen cap would have planted the first -- taft would have planted the first trees in 1912. many people were injured it with things japanese, the architecture, culture, it was due to her that the trees are. today. from "first

on the one hand, like helen taft, she really was pushing. she was the engine of the this genial, not particularly impressive husband. about that. that added to the difficulty in her life. but nevertheless, she pushed him. "i seesame time she said one word written over the future: atrocity." she turned out to be a better astrologer. susan: she also did not server --did not survive her term in the white house. richard: she almost died 2 years into the presidency. he died august 1923. she lived almost a lifelong kidney condition, which had almost killed her more than once. it made her a semi-invalid. about florence harding, when they move into the .hite house after world war i the white house has really shut down in part because of security and the president's condition. she ordered that the shades be opened. straff on the remonstrated that it was not the custom during wartime. she said "let them look in, it's their house." susan: the film industry was being born in prominent, so we actually have a film of florence harding. this was there front

the cherry blossoms were a gift from japan and were planted in 1912 by then first lady helen taft and a wife -- the wife of the japanese ambassador. the cherry blossom fest ral -- festival runs until april 17th. >> beautiful time in the city. >> are you going to try? >> i'm going to try. >> best way, walk, bike. that's the only way to do it. bad news. we've got winds coming in tomorrow. first things first. 3-degree guarantee. a little concerned about this. i thought 71 would do it. it was 73 for across most of the area. how did we do? well, we'll talk about that tonight at 11:00. and you can track us by downloading our free app. >>> live look outside. it is our michael and son weather cam. relative humidity, only 30%. still comfortable air mass. winds out of the south at 13. that's driving up the warmer air. we'll continue to do so, too. right through thursday night. mild and warmer thursday. showers now mainlied from morning. we kind of pushed them back a little bit. easter sunday still looks great. now, that said, if you are planning to do a sunrise service, okay, please be advised

. >> reporter: the trees in fact were a gift from japan planted in 1912 by then first lady helen taft and the wife of the japanese ambassador. >> the festival runs until april 17. . the park police remind visitors to remain aware for trouble. >>> it's a great day to check out the cherry blossoms. here say basin. >> frayed inspect the main enemy is rolling in. this is our wind gust tracker at 6:00 tomorrow winds will gust over 30 miamis an hour that's not a good thing we will come back and talk about what that means and a cold front on the map. we will tell what you that means for easter weekend. >> and the terps prepare to take on the number one team in the ncaa tournament. you will hear about this. >> and these aren't your normal easter eggs. we will explain why members of a local bomb squad are warming them up. hey how's it going, hotcakes? hotcakes. this place has hotcakes. so why aren't they selling like hotcakes? ro, they could be. just add a customized message to your wifi pro splash page and you'll reach your customers where their eyes are already - on their devices. order up.

all of this started because of first lady helen taft. when helen taft became first lady in 1909, she addressed having cherry trees planted. the tidal basin was a mess. wherewas a speedway people raised their carriages at a top speed of 15 miles per hour, but there was nothing to draw people or make it a beautiful place for people to gather and enjoy nature. helen wanted to change that. one of the first thing she did when she became first lady was to ask for trees to be planted. they were requested from nurseries in pennsylvania, but the japanese heard about her interest and decided to give 2000 trees to the united states in her honor from the city of tokyo to the city of washington as a gift honoring american support of japan. january,s arrived in 1910. , but thewas shocked trees were older and toll and quite impressive, so it was decided -- president taft made the decision they had to be burned. the japanese were very accommodating and understanding and decided to send 3000 trees in 1912, and it is those we still have a few of around th

. >> reporter: planted in 1912, by first lady helen taft and the wife of the japanese ambassador, the cherry trees are, indeed, an everlasting gift. their blossoms are a sure sign of spring and a celebrated treasure in washington. >> some petals are falling down. and i always want >> did you get any at all today? >> not today. but i found some coins. [ laughter ] >> reporter: she was very, very happy to find some coins. but other people just feel lucky to be in the presence of nature's majesty here. how beautiful. now, get this. the cherry trees are in various stages of development. so while there are some trees that are in full bloom, others still need a little more time. but the good news is that when they do bloom, the blossoms will be around longer than normal. we're live near the tidal basin, delia goncalves, wusa 9. >> park police say they will continue to patrol that area and urge visitors to also remain vigilant. the cherry blossom festival runs through april 17th. and i'm with delia. >> a lot of those kids getting a good education on where they came from. >> i wonder how ofte

taft planted helen the cherry blossom trees. they would not be here if it were not for helping taft. people were enchanted with all things japanese in the late 19th century, architecture, pictures, plants, and it was due to her that the trees are here today. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we will open up our phone lines as a look at the cherry trees just north of the u.s. capitol on this easter sunday morning. (202)-748-8000 the number the call for democrats. (202)-748-8001 for republicans. independents and all others, (202)-748-8002. congress out for their easter break. they will be back next week and the house back one week after that. there were elections overnight. caucuses. first up in alaska, senator bernie sanders winning those caucuses, 82% to 18% over hillary clinton. in hawaii, with how many percentages of the votes -- 71% or bernie sanders, 29% for hillary clinton. caucuses,gton state democratic caucuses, senator bernie sanders winning 73% and secretary hillary clinton with 27% of the vote. with the next big

helen taft wanted to change that. one of the first thing she did when she became first lady was beed t for trees to planted. they were requested from pennsylvania, but the japanese heard of it, and they decided to send trees in her honor as a gift, honoring the u.s. support of japan. 2000 trees arrived in january 1910. everyone was shocked. the trees were older, very tall, and bug infested. it was decided that they would have to be burned. in fact, president taft decided they would be burned. the japanese were very understanding and accommodating, and decided to send 3000 trees in 1912. this is the north section of the title basin, where many of the original trees have been planted. you can tell the older ones withse they are wider overarching branches. this is where helen taft would have planted the first cherry blossom tree that came with the shipment of 1912. while people were fascinated by , it was dueapanese to her that the trees are here today. aboutour conversation campaign 2016 causing tensions among your fami