Names and faces
■ Melania Trump has announced plans to redo the White House Rose Garden to make it more in line with the original design implemented during the 1960s Kennedy administration. The first lady said Monday in a statement that decades of use and changes made to support a modern presidency have taken a toll on the outdoor space just off the Oval Office. Plans described by the first lady include returning the Rose Garden to its original 1962 footprint with improved infrastructure and drainage and a better environment for the plants and flowers. The renovation also includes making the space more accessible for people with disabilities and improvements for audiovisual and broadcasting needs, she said. “The very act of planting a garden involves hard work and hope in the possibility of a bright future,” said the first lady, who added the garden project to a list of other White House renovations, including refurbishing the Red and Blue Rooms and building a tennis pavilion on the South Lawn. “Preserving the history and beauty of the White House and its grounds is a testament to our nation’s commitment to the care of this landscape and our dedication to American ideals, safeguarding them for our children and their children for generations to come,” she said.
■ Greece’s prime minister was criticized by an opposition party for using a military helicopter during a trip to celebrate with Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, on being granted Greek citizenship. In an Instagram post on Sunday, Prime Minister Kyriakos shared a photograph of showing him and his wife Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotaki at a meeting with Hanks and Wilson, who were holding up their new Greek passports. “Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks are now proud Greek citizens,” Mitsotakis wrote in the post. Greece offered citizenship to Hanks, Wilson and their two children, in recognition of the family’s help in raising funds for the victims of a deadly wildfire near Athens in 2018. Wilson, an actress and producer, has Greek and Bulgarian ancestry. Government spokesman Stelios Petsas said Monday that the prime minister and his wife had used a commercial flight on Saturday to travel to the island of Paros, and then traveled to nearby Antiparos, where Hanks and Wilson have a holiday home. They then used a military helicopter for a trip to the ancient theater of Epidaurus on Sunday to watch a performance of an ancient tragedy.