How’s everyone?

President Obama arriving at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, March 5 (Photo by Pete Souza)

****

1 I’m done with soccer/football. Forever. Well, until Sunday.

2 Will catch up with newsie stuff in the morning in a monster huuuuuuge Rise and Shine, it was another one of those days.

3 Seriously sad about Hugo Chavez, he did so much good in his life. Rest in peace.

4 But missed just about everything else today.

5 Hope everyone’s in good form?

Chat Away

Heck, just in the door, that day proved a little longer than expected.

Will be back after Manchester United pulverize Real Madrid. 😕

Chat away!

Rise and Shine

Oct 10, 2011: President  Obama visits a wounded warrior for a Purple Heart presentation at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. (Photo by Pete Souza). The President will visit the Center again today.

****

Today:

12:45: Jay Carney’s press briefing

2:05: President Obama departs White House

2:35: Visits the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

4:25: Arrives White House

5:0: Meets with Secretary of Defense Hagel

****

OFA

****

NYT: President Obama on Monday named two people to his cabinet who will be charged with making good on his threat to use the powers of the executive branch to tackle climate change and energy policy if Congress does not act quickly.

Mr. Obama nominated Gina McCarthy, a tough-talking native of Boston and an experienced clean air regulator, to take charge at the Environmental Protection Agency, and Ernest J. Moniz, a physicist and strong advocate of natural gas and nuclear power as cleaner alternatives to coal, to run the Department of Energy.

The appointments, which require Senate confirmation, send an unmistakable signal that the president intends to mount a multifaceted campaign in his second term to tackle climate change by using all the executive branch tools at his disposal.

More here

****

****

NBC: A bipartisan group of senators has reached a deal on a bill that would make it a federal crime to buy a gun for someone who isn’t legally allowed to own one. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy announced the agreement on the Senate floor Monday evening.

Illegal gun “straw” purchases, made by a buyer on behalf of someone who cannot pass a background check, are often not prosecuted under current law, usually because conducting such a sale yields such a weak penalty.

The new compromise legislation would make the consequences for both straw buyers and sellers far more serious  – to the tune of decades in jail.

More here

****

****

Time: The Senate Intelligence Committee is scheduled to vote on President Barack Obama‘s pick to lead the CIA after weeks of wrangling with the White House over access to top-secret information about the use of lethal drone strikes against terror suspects and the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.

More here

****

MoooOOOOoooorning! That was a short and not completely sweet Rise and Shine, but I have to rush out the door – as soon as I can find it.

Back in a while!