The White House began releasing the guest list for President Obama's State of the Union speech on Tuesday.
As The Boston Globe reports, sitting with first lady Michelle Obama will be two survivors of the bombing at the Boston Marathon last year.
"Jeff Bauman — the 27-year-old who lost both legs in the attack — and Carlos Arredondo — the 53-year-old wearing a cowboy hat who wheeled him to safety — will be there for the speech.
"The scene of the two in the immediate aftermath of the bombings became one of the iconic images, capturing both the chaos and courage of the day.
"From his hospital bed, Bauman later played a crucial role in describing the Tsarnaev brothers and helping investigators try to identify the bombing suspects. Arrendondo, who made a tourniquet from a sweater sleeve that saved Bauman's life, is now what some of his friends call Boston's 'comforter in chief.'"
CNN reports that the Obamas have also invited Jason Collins, the former NBA center who in 2013 became the first active player in the four major American team sports to come out.
"The White House said Monday it had also invited Moore, Okla.'s fire chief, Gary Bird, to the State of the Union speech," CNN adds. "Moore was the site of a massive tornado in May that left 25 people dead as it tore through town. Bird led a team of search-and-rescuers that pulled survivors from the wreckage."
This is the White House's first round of announcements. We'll update this post once the White House releases more.
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