First Lady Michelle Obama hasn’t let chatter about her bangs discourage her from making them a permanent part of White House history. The first lady’s official second-term portrait was released this week, showcasing her much discussed voluminous bangs.
The portrait, taken in the White House green room by photographer Chuck Kennedy, pictures a relaxed Mrs. Obama in a navy and violet dress. She also wore a single strand of pearls, which are said to be similar to the pearls she recently wore on the Rachael Ray show, where she described her bangs as her “midlife crisis.”
During President Obama’s first term, chatter accumulated over Michelle’s signature no-sleeve style, which she confidently displayed in her first official White House portrait. The buzz over the new portrait raises the question: are bangs Michelle’s new signature?
This year’s White House Easter Egg Roll features not just one president, but two. “Kid President,” 9-year-old Robby Novak, helped President Obama get the word out via YouTube before providing a brief summary of the event for kiddos and kids-at-heart.
In the video “Introducing the 2013 White House Easter Egg Roll,” President Obama sends Novak a message about the event. The message is passed in class, spotted by telescope, and eventually received via paper airplane before being delivered to Kid President’s desk.
“Kid President, looks like you got my message,” President Obama confirms.
The video then announces a ticket lottery, opening 10 a.m. Thursday morning and closing 10 a.m. on Monday.
Novak gained fame after his “A Pep Talk from Kid President to You” video gained over 10 million views online. In the video, Kid President, who suffers from Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a condition resulting in fragile bones, encourages people to have more fun. Take it from him, “the world needs to stop being boring.”
Novak uses this enthusiasm to help support the Egg Roll, which focuses on a healthy life-style this year. The President and First Lady said the theme is "Be Healthy, Be Active, Be You!"
Comedian Stephan Colbert is planning to raise big bucks for his sister's South Carolina congressional campaign.
Colbert, who is no new-comer to political fundraising, is hosting an event on Feb. 22 to support sister Elizabeth Colbert Busch's race to replace former Representative Tim Scott. The fundraiser costs $250 for general admission and up to $5,200 to attend a private dinner.
Colbert’s invitation reads: “It is rare for me to take an active role in anyone’s political ambitions other than my own. But this is different – beyond a brother’s love, I truly believe Lulu is the best candidate to represent my beloved Lowcountry in the United States Congress.”
Busch announced her candidacy for the position in January. Colbert has stood by her side avidly since her announcement, announcing her run on his self-titled talk show in addition to his fundraising efforts.
Busch will be one of few democrats running for the republican-leaning district based around Charleston, but Colbert is very optimistic, writing on the invitation “our chances look good.”
Facebook CEO and billionaire Mark Zuckerberg attracted an onslaught of disarray on Wednesday night when he invited New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to his Palo Alto home.
Zuckerberg, who announced his support for Christie earlier this year, threw his first political fundraiser to help support the mayor’s upcoming reelection campaign. While the event drew in many of Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla’s high-status friends, including former sec. of state Condoleezza Rice, it also attracted about 40 protesters.
Christie was able to slip in through a separate entrance, according to the Huffington Post, but Rice had to push her way through the commotion of chanting protesters who proclaimed "One, two, three, four, this is not the Jersey Shore. Five, six, seven, eight, Zuck send Christie to his state.”
Christie angered many democrats after vetoing several bills that would provide funding for Planned Parenthood. The pro-choice protesters outside of Zuckerberg’s home held signs that said “Zuck + Chris hands off planned parenthood” and featured a modified thumbs-down version of the “like” button on Facebook.
Zuckerberg apparently ‘friended’ Christie in 2010 when he, Christie, and Newark Mayor Cory Booker appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show to announced Zukerberg’s $100 million donation for Newark Public Schools.
House Republicans launched a new twitter feed in their quest to gain more votes from the Spanish speaking population. Directly rivaling the @GOPconference page, the new page, @GOPespanol, welcomed twitter users on Monday afternoon.
The feed launched just in time for Florida Senator Marco Rubio’s speech after the State of the Union on Tuesday night.Rubio, a rising star of the Republican party and son of Cuban immigrants, will give his rebuttal to President Obama in both English and Spanish.
Since President Obama won 71% of the Hispanic vote last election, the GOP has demonstrated more sensitivity to Hispanic-Americans including an increased interest in immigration reform and pathways to citizenship. The new feed is one of many attempts to win over the Hispanic population, which has been described as a “natural republican constituency,” by republican Charles Krauthammer. That is, financially and socially conservative as well as religious.
Since its launch, @GOPespanol has attracted more than 550 followers. Some of the most noteworthy include House Majority Whip, Republican Kevin McCarthy, Republican congressman Bill Huizenga, Telemundo’s Jose Diaz-Balart, and former Univision host Neida Sandoval.
Wondering how your favorite celebrity feels about gun-control? Law makers haven't been the only ones participating in the gun-control brawl in the nearly two months following the mass shooting in Newtown.
On Wednesday, Chris Rock and Amanda Peet joined a handful of other celebrities and legislators on Capital Hill. The news conference, held by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, provided support for President Obama's gun-control plan. At the event, Rock had a few wise words to share with fellow Americans. "The president and the first lady are kind of like the mom and the dad of the country," he said, asking congress to act, "and when your dad says something you listen, and when you don't it usually bites you in the ..."
Back in December, other famous-faces including Beyonce Knowles, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Aniston, John Legend, and Selena Gomez joined forces with the Demand A Plan organization to create a video advocating for gun-control. "It's time for our leaders to act. Demand a plan," they urged.
The video went viral, but not all of the attention was positive. A mock-video was released shortly afterwards accusing the celebs of hypocrisy. The video, called "Demand A Plan? Demand Celebrities Go [Expletive] Themselves," shows a combination of clips from the original video followed by violent television and movie scenes featuring the stars. Jamie Foxx seems to have received the blunt of the blow for his extremely violent role in the movie "Django Unchained," released over the holidays.
Not all celebrities are supportive of the gun-control agenda, though.
While it's no surprise that outspoken republican and business man Donald Trump opposes gun-control, he does apparently support a ban on assault weapons.
Bruce Willis is also a strong defender of the Second Amendment. Willis, who is well know for his tough-guy persona in movies, says that although he feels bad for victims of gun violence, he doesn't think the laws will prevent shootings. It looks like there may be similar roles in the works for Willis, as he also told A.P. he doesn't believe violence in media has any correlation with violence in real life.
