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Apple's Steve Jobs to meet with President Obama on Thursday

 

Apple CEO Steve Jobs will reportedly join Google chief executive Eric Schmidt and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in a meeting with US President Barack Obama in San Francisco on Thursday.

Though recent reports have alleged that Jobs' health has continued to decline, the executive is scheduled to attend a business leaders' event with President Obama Thursday evening, a source told ABC News.

Google's Schmidt, who will step down as CEO in April; GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt, the newly named chairman of the White House Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, and Facebook's Zuckerberg will also be in attendance, according to sources familiar with the meeting.

“The president and the business leaders will discuss our shared goal of promoting American innovation, and discuss his commitment to new investments in research and development, education and clean energy,” a White House official said.

Jobs and President Obama met in October of last year to discuss the US technology industry and the economy. At the time, White house press secretary Robert Gibbs said that the President was "eager" to talk with the CEO.

In December 2010, Obama cited Jobs as an impressive example of the American dream.

"Something that's always been the greatest strength of America is a thriving, booming middle class, where everybody has got a shot at the American dream. And that should be our goal. That should be what we're focused on," the President said. "How are we creating opportunity for everybody? So that we celebrate wealth. We celebrate somebody like a Steve Jobs, who has created two or three different revolutionary products. We expect that person to be rich, and that's a good thing."

Though Jobs has kept a relatively low profile during his medical leave, which he announced in January, rampant speculation on his condition continues to abound. Jobs stayed on as Apple's chief executive and continues to be involved in major strategic decisions as he works from home.

RadarOnline reported Wednesday that Jobs had been spotted at the Stanford Cancer Clinic in Palo Alto, Calif. According to a recent report, Jobs, who turns 56 next week, had been in a "down cycle" for weeks and appeared "increasingly emaciated."