The Latest: Obama visits centre on US-Asia-Pacific relations

HONOLULU – The Latest on President Barack Obama’s family vacation in Hawaii (all times local):

10:30 p.m.

President Barack Obama is returning to Washington after wrapping up his final vacation as president.

Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia boarded Air Force One late Sunday after dinner with friends at Buzz’s Original Steakhouse in Kailua.

They were scheduled to arrive in Washington midday Monday after an overnight flight.

The family spent more than two weeks in Oahu, where Obama was born. Obama played numerous rounds of golf, took his family snorkeling and dined in some of the island’s best restaurants. Obama also joined Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for an historic visit to Pearl Harbor.

Obama now opens the final stretch of his presidency, with roughly a dozen working days left. He’s planning to meet Wednesday with Democratic lawmakers on protecting his health care law.

11:20 a.m.

President Barack Obama started New Year’s Day with a morning trip to a research institution that promotes understanding on people in the United States, Asia and the Pacific.

The president is meeting Richard R. Vuylsteke, the incoming president of the East West Center on the University of Hawaii campus at Manoa. The East West Center provides grants and scholarships to students and fellows from around the world. Obama has made several trips to the centre during his time as president. His mother, Ann Dunham, studied there while working toward a doctorate degree from the University of Hawaii.

Obama and Vuylsteke will be joined by the president’s daughters, Sasha and Malia, as well as his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, who is on the faculty at the University of Hawaii.

The Obamas are spending their last winter vacation as first family on the island of Oahu in the president’s home state. They have made the two-week trip an annual tradition.