Obama ditches press pool for soccer game

WASHINGTON, April 11 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama took the highly unusual step of leaving the White House without the press pool Saturday.

Obama left the White House at 9:20 a.m. Saturday to go to his daughter's soccer game, an event that was not scheduled with the president's traveling press pool, which travels with the president wherever he goes to document his actions for the public record, The New York Times reported.

The White House quickly gathered some reporters together and left the White House 23 minutes after the president, but they were unable to join up with Obama, who returned to the White House at 10:17 a.m.