LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — A U.S. woman who's become the world's oldest person wants President Barack Obama to attend her 117th birthday party on the Fourth of July.
At 116, Gertrude Weaver was already the oldest person in America. With the death of 117-year-old Misao Okawa in Japan on Wednesday, Weaver became the world's oldest person, according to the Los Angeles-based Gerontology Research Group.
The staff at the Silver Oaks Health and Rehabilitation Center in Camden, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Little Rock, said Weaver is in good health. They say she attributes her longevity to treating others well.
Weaver would like to meet the president at her birthday party because she has voted for him twice.
The Gerontology Research Group tracks supercentenarians.