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World's officially oldest human turns 115

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Published: April 8, 2009 at 3:21 AM

LOS ANGELES, April 8 (UPI) -- Gertrude Baines of Los Angeles, officially the world's oldest person, has turned 115.

That was rare enough to earn her congratulations from U.S. President Barack Obama and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

The Georgia native has held the title of oldest human alive since the Jan. 2 death of a 115-year-old Portuguese woman. There are at least a couple of people who claim to be older but their birth records haven't been confirmed so the honor officially goes to Baines.

A birthday party was held Monday for Baines at West Adams Hospital. Politicians and other well-wishers crammed a room to greet the birthday girl. She was presented with congratulatory plaques, a two-layer lemon birthday cake and a cooler filled with her favorite treat -- Dodger Dogs.

Baines accepted all the festivities with good humor and didn't quite understand all the fuss. She was thrilled, however, about the gift of the frankfurters.

Topics: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barack Obama, Gertrude Baines
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

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