Obama tees it up for 52nd birthday
President Barack Obama kicked off his birthday weekend with a round of golf Saturday and planned to spend time with friends at Camp David.
Obama, who turns 52 today, left the White House unusually early for the half-hour trip by motorcade to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to squeeze in some golf before the celebration was to shift to the presidential retreat.
The White House said there were three golfing foursomes, which included some of Obama’s friends from Hawaii, where he grew up, and Chicago, where he lived before becoming president, as well as current and former aides.
Among them were childhood friends Bobby Titcomb and Mike Ramos, and Chicago pals Marty Nesbitt and Eric Whitaker. White House aides Marvin Nicholson and Sam Kass, an assistant chef, rounded out the group, along with Reggie Love, who for years had been Obama’s personal assistant, or “body man,” and basketball buddy until he left the White House in late 2011 to finish the course work for an MBA.
William takes ‘baby mode’ break
New father Prince William says his mind has been stuck in “baby mode,” including dealing with diapers.
William was taking a break from his parenting duties Saturday to play alongside his brother, Harry, at the Audi Polo Challenge in the English village of Ascot.
William and his wife, Kate, had their first child, Prince George, on July 22. The young father told guests at the event that it was “good to get out of the house” for the afternoon.
The 31-year-old managed to score the winning goal for his team and was later presented with a miniature polo stick for his newborn son.
Bloodhound Gang’s Russian gig nixed
A Russian rock music festival has barred the Bloodhound Gang from performing after its bass player shoved a Russian flag down his pants at a recent concert in neighboring Ukraine.
Videos posted online of Wednesday’s concert in the city of Odessa show bassist Jared Hasselhoff pushing the Russian white, blue and red flag down the front of his pants and pulling it out the back. He then shouted to the audience: “Don’t tell Putin,” a reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A spokeswoman for the Russian festival said Saturday that the band’s headlining performance the previous evening was canceled because of the incident.
The birthday bunch
Actor-comedian Richard Belzer is 69. Actor-screenwriter Billy Bob Thornton is 58. Actress Kym Karath (“The Sound of Music”) is 55. Author Dennis Lehane (“Mystic River”) is 48. Actors Dylan and Cole Sprouse are 21.