44, Day 84: Pirate Patrol

An ongoing log of the daily activities of the 44th president of the United States during his first 100 days:

-President Obama eased some of the US restrictions on Cuba, but his steps were largely geared to allowing Cuban Americans unrestricted travel and and to easing limits on the value of gifts they can give to those in Cuba.

-The president said today he was pleased by the rescue of an American merchant-ship captain who was being held hostage off the coast of Somalia. And he vowed that "we are resolved to halt the rise of piracy in that region." According to reports, Obama issued a standing order approving the use of force to take out the pirates.

-With a stop at the Transportation Department with Vice President Biden, the president marked the approval of the 2,000th project as part of the stimulus package passed earlier this year. Number 2,000 is a project to to widen an interstate and rebuild an overpass in Portage, Michigan, which officials believe will create 900 jobs when it gets underway in summer.

-On Tuesday, the president is scheduled to give what the White House is billing as a major speech about the economy.

-A day after Easter, the White House held the annual Easter Egg Roll. And the president had to share the stage with a 6-foot bunny.

by J. Jennings Moss

Sources: The White House, Portfolio, the New York Times, Politico, and the Wall Street Journal.