Michelle Obama thanks Jill Biden for fresh veggies from White House garden she planted

Michelle Obama is thanking Jill Biden for a "delicious surprise" - a basket filled with veggies from the White House garden that she helped plant as first lady in 2009.

Obama expressed gratitude to Biden in a Tuesday Instagram message, posting a photo of the leafy green-stuffed care package that she described as "beautiful."

Obama broke ground on the vegetable garden on the White House's South Lawn nearly 12 years ago as part of her initiative on childhood healthy eating. The then-first lady was reportedly "committed" to preserving the garden. She penned a book in 2011 about the effort, called "American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America."

The outdoor space, officially called the White House kitchen garden, was the site of Melania Trump's first event at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. as first lady back in 2017.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/536967-michelle-obama-thanks-jill-biden-for-fresh-veggies-from-white%3famp

Bonus Tweet of the Day

Biden just shook his head in what must have been disgust over Officer Sicknick's death.

Says it for us all.

Tweet of the Day

Ryan Coogler Developing MCU Series Set in Wakanda for Disney+

Its not very often we get Marvel Studios news that hasn’t either been rumored around the web or announced at a major event focused on fans, press or investors so this particular piece of news not only comes as a delight but a pretty big surprise. Today via their Twitter account, Marvel Studios announced a five-year television deal with Black Panther writer/director Ryan Coogler‘s production studio Proximity Media and The Walt Disney Company. The deal more or less guarantees an ample amount of projects for both Marvel and Disney, including a Wakanda-based MCU series for Disney+ that they’re already working on.

When 2020 saw the untimely passing of the legendary Chadwick Boseman, many fans wondered if Wakanda’s chapter of the MCU had been forced to a close. Apparently, Marvel Studios has other plans. With prior announcements that King T’Challa will not be recast in the MCU, this leaves a lot of possibility for what kind of series we may be getting.

The last we saw the technologically advanced nation was in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War when it was left ungoverned after its king was unexpectedly turned to dust following an intense battle against an army of outriders. But we still haven’t seen a Wakanda in the aftermath of the blip. While Black Panther 2 has been confirmed to heavily focus on the nation and the rich culture that surrounds it we should still expect to see plenty of that in the Disney+ series. Given Wakanda’s deep comic-lore we could see anything from an Agents of Wakanda adaption to a Nakia/Dora Milaje focused series or even one focused on M’Baku’s White Gorilla Cult. It’s also possible they give us the Black Panthers of Wakanda’s past in action.






https://mcuexchange.com/ryan-coogler-wakanda-series-disney-plus/

Biden administration eyes Rahm Emanuel for ambassadorship

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is considering former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for a high-profile ambassadorship, potentially to China, three people with knowledge of the discussions said.

Becoming the U.S. ambassador to Japan is another option that Biden administration officials have discussed with Emanuel, one of the people with knowledge of the discussions said.

Emanuel, who became White House chief of staff when Barack Obama took office as president, has a reputation as a sharp-tongued political street fighter. He has clashed at times with progressive Democrats.

He is also a well-known figure in Democratic politics who would bring notoriety to an ambassadorship. Biden is considering him for a key diplomatic position as administration officials look to fill dozens of vacancies in capitals across the world, with decisions expected in coming weeks.

There is precedent for selecting boldface-name political figures to represent the U.S. in both Beijing and Tokyo. Obama selected Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a Republican, as ambassador to China — a move Emanuel played a role in as White House chief of staff. Long-serving former Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., also filled the role in Beijing during Obama's second term, and he was succeeded by former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad during the Trump administration.

Japan — a U.S. ally — has come to appreciate, and even expect, a flashy name as its ambassador, seeing it as a sign of the importance an American president places on the relationship. Caroline Kennedy served in the role during Obama's first term, for instance. Former Vice President Walter Mondale was U.S. ambassador to Japan during the Clinton administration, and former Senate Republican leader Howard Baker of Tennessee was in Tokyo during President George W. Bush's administration.



https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-administration-eyes-rahm-emanuel-ambassadorship-n1256428

Biden to Free Up Billions in Delayed Puerto Rico Storm Aid

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said it would release $1.3 billion in aid that Puerto Rico can use to protect against future climate disasters, and is starting to remove some restrictions put in place by the Trump administration on spending that was to help the island after Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Administration officials, describing the move as a first step toward addressing racial inequality through policies designed to address climate change, said they planned to ease the limits that the Trump administration placed on another $4.9 billion in aid on the morning of Jan. 20, a few hours before the former president left office.

Puerto Rico’s reconstruction after Maria, which devastated the island more than three years ago, has been far slower than the recovery in other parts of the country, such as Texas and Florida, that were also struck by major disasters that year. That is partly because the Department of Housing and Urban Development had placed restrictions on Puerto Rico’s aid funds that didn’t apply to other recipients, according to current and former officials and policy experts.

“That slow pace of disbursement has dampened Puerto Rico’s recovery,” said Rosanna Torres, Washington director for the Center for a New Economy, a Puerto Rican think tank.




https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/01/climate/puerto-rico-maria-federal-aid.html

Tweet of the Day

CA-GOV: Former San Diego mayor Faulconer to run for California governor

OH-SEN: Tim Ryan Planning Senate Run In Ohio

“Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) plans to run for his state’s open Senate seat, Democrats who have spoken with him said, a bid that would test whether even a Democrat with roots in the blue-collar Youngstown region and close ties to organized labor can win in the increasingly Republican state,” the New York Times reports.

“He is expected to declare his candidacy by the beginning of March.”



https://politicalwire.com/2021/02/01/tim-ryan-planning-senate-run-in-ohio/