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FILE PHOTO: Nurse Nicole McCurrach, 48, draws up coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccinations at Richmond raceway in Richmond, Virginia, U.S., March 4, 2021. REUTERS/Julia Rendleman/File Photo

(Reuters) - Former U.S. Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter will star in two new public service announcements (PSA) for the coronavirus vaccine alongside former First Ladies Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton and Rosalynn Carter, the Ad Council announced on Thursday.

The science is clear. These vaccines will protect you and those you love from this dangerous and deadly disease, said President Bush in one of the PSAs with Obama and Clinton, urging Americans to get vaccinated.

Thats the first step to ending the pandemic and moving our country forward, said Obama.

Noticeably absent in the vaccine PSAs, created by nonprofit the Ad Council, are former President Donald Trump and Melania Trump. During his run for re-election last year, Trump widely touted his administrations role in bringing a vaccine to market.

When asked about Trumps absence, a spokesman for the Ad Council said one of the PSAs was filmed at President Joe Bidens inauguration in January, which Trump did not attend.

The spokesman added the organization was pleased when Trump recently advised Americans to go get your shot after receiving the vaccine.

The new ads are part of the Ad Councils nationwide vaccine education campaign titled Its Up To You. More than 300 partners are supporting the nonprofit in the effort to battle hesitancy about the vaccines safety and help convince more people to get the shot.

A second PSA features each of the presidents and First Ladies wearing masks and receiving a dose of the vaccine.

Now its up to you, Carter says in the ad.

Reporting by Sheila Dang; Editing by Michael Perry

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Former U.S. presidents Obama, Bush, Clinton, Carter and First Ladies promote vaccine in new advertisements - Reuters

The White House website appears to have removed a section where people can submit petitions for the president to review.

The URL "petitions.whitehouse.gov" currently redirects to the White House's homepage instead of the original page, which was initially set up under former President Obama in 2011.

It's unclear why the redirect occurs but an internet archive shows the original "We the People" page appearing as far back as the day of President Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20.

Notable recent petitions have included a request that Trump release his taxes, one requesting that Antifa be classified as a terrorist organization, and another that pushed for the government to create a Death Star.

WHITE HOUSE LAUNCHES WEBSITE FOR ONLINE PETITIONS

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.

In 2011, Obama's adminstration described the feature as a way for citizens to exercise the Constitutional right to petiton the government.

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"Our Constitution guarantees your right to petition our government," a press release read. "Now, with We the People, we're offering a new way to submit an online petition on a range of issues -- and get an official response."

The Trump administration briefly removed the site in 2017 and restored it the following month.

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Biden White House removes petition page started by Obama and continued under Trump - Fox News

UPDATE: The former First Lady is also appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday March 16. Late-night talent wars, anyone?

ORIGINAL: Michelle Obama is back on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon next week.

She will appear on the NBC late-night show on Thursday March 18 to promote her upcoming Netflix kids show Waffles and Mochi.

Obama, who will appear virtually, has appeared regularly on The Tonight Show, starting with appearances under former host Jay Leno and then under Fallon. She has performed sketches with the likes of Will Ferrell, showcased the Evolution of Mom Dancing and did a game of Catchphrase, competing against Dave Chappelle and Jerry Seinfeld.

Waffles and Mochi, which launches on March 16, follows the adventures of two puppets who have a dream to learn to cook fresh food from around the world with the help of Obama, a magical shopping cart and celebrity guests. It features guests such as Common and Zach Galifianakis and is produced by the Obamas Higher Ground Productions, which will run a campaign in collaboration with the Partnership for a Healthier America.

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Other Tonight guests on March 18 include NPRs Guy Raz and musical guest Edie Brickell and New Bohemians. They join a slew of other upcoming guests announced today including Amy Poehler, Benedict Cumberbatch, Desus & Mero and Jennifer Garner.

Listings:

Monday, March 8: Amy Poehler, Courtney B. Vance and musical guest Willie Jones.Tuesday, March 9: Chrissy Teigen, Rory Mcllroy and musical guest Pink Sweat$ ft. Kehlani.Wednesday, March 10: Norman Reedus, Charli and Dixie DAmelio and stand-up guest Mike Vecchione.Thursday, March 11: Jennifer Garner, Don Lemon and musical guest Adrianne Lenker.Friday, March 12: Nick Offerman, Hailey Bieber and musical guest Freddie Gibbs.Monday, March 15: John Oliver, Brian Tyree Henry and musical guest Japanese Breakfast.Tuesday, March 16: Benedict Cumberbatch, Madelaine Petsch and musical guest ROS.Wednesday, March 17: Desus & Mero, Taylor Kinney and musical guest Camilo.Thursday, March 18: Michelle Obama,Guy Razand musical guest Edie Brickell and New Bohemians.

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Michelle Obama To Appear On The Tonight Show & Jimmy Kimmel Live To Promote Waffles & Mochi - Deadline

Courtesy The Obama Foundation From left: former President Barack Obama with his mother, Ann Dunham, in Hawaii in the '60s

Barack Obama remembers thinking "you can do anything and be anybody" you want during his first trip to the mainland U.S. as a child.

The former president was raised in Hawaii for most of his childhood before moving to Los Angeles after high school, later finishing his studies at Columbia University in New York City and then Harvard University in Boston.

But when he was about 11 years old, Obama flew to the U.S. with his mother, grandmother and 2-year-old sister, Maya, for a road trip across the country.

Obama, now 59, recalls the trip on the latest episode of his new Renegades podcast with friend Bruce Springsteen.

"I remember looking out a Greyhound buses and looking out of trains and looking out of car windows," Obama tells the 71-year-old Springsteen. "Just miles of corn or miles of desert, or miles of forest, or miles of mountains."

Staring out of the bus window, Obama says, he was "just thinking, 'Man, imagine where you can go. You can go anywhere, and by implication, you can do anything and be anybody.' "

RELATED: Barack Obama Sings with Bruce Springsteen While They Talk Power of Music in Their Lives

Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post via Getty Images Bruce Springsteen (left) and Barack Obama (right) in 2012

Obama says the family first flew to Seattle where his mother, Ann Dunham, had attended college for a year shortly after he was born.

From Seattle, they took a Greyhound bus to San Francisco and then to L.A., before taking a train to Arizona. After working their way down the West Coast, the future president and his family went to Kansas City then up to Chicago before renting a car and driving to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

"My mother didn't drive," Obama tells Springsteen, because she didn't have a license. So that meant a pre-teen Obama was tasked with riding shotgun and directing his grandma, Madelyn Dunham.

Story continues

"My grandmother drove but she's starting to go a little blind," Obama says on the podcast with a laugh. "I remember being put in the front seat at around twilight so that I can direct my grandmother properly as we're hitting some of these turns in the road."

That's when Obama says he first saw the expansive landscapes of the continental U.S.

"For me, part of the essential aspect of being an American is getting out of where you are," he tells Springsteen in Monday's podcast episode, as they share stories with each other about traveling across the U.S. and how those trips inspired them throughout their lives.

RELATED VIDEO: Michelle Obama Announces New Netflix Cooking Show for Kids Featuring 'Delicious Food from All Over the World'

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Steve Liss/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Barack Obama when he was a student at Harvard University

"You and I could jump in [my] Corvette and go to Route 66," Springsteen jokes with Obama. "Though, Michelle [Obama] and Patti [Springsteen] might kick our asses, right?"

"Yeah, I don't know how far we'd get," Obama responds.

RELATED: Obama and Springsteen's Friendship Includes Their Wives, Too: 'Michelle and Patti Hit It Off'

He and Springsteen launched their Renegades podcast series on Spotify last month. The streaming service said they would share "personal" and "revealing" stories that reflected broader discussions about the country.

Renegades is "a personal, in-depth discussion between two friends exploring their pasts, their beliefs, and the country that they loveas it was, as it is, and as it ought to be going forward," Spotify said.

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Barack Obama Remembers Thinking You Can Do Anything During His First Trip to U.S. Mainland as a Child - Yahoo Entertainment

Spotify/Renegades: Born in the USA

Barack Obama revealed when he was a kid, he once responded to racism with violence ... by popping his own friend in the nose.

The former President was speaking with Bruce Springsteen on their new Spotify podcast, "Renegades: Born in the USA," and amid a wide-ranging conversation about their lives, politics, music and race ... Obama recalled the incident with a classmate.

He says the kid was a friend he played basketball with, and one time they got into a fight and his friend called him a racial slur ... different from the n-word.

Obama says he doesn't even think his schoolmate knew what the word meant -- just that it was meant to be hurtful -- so he "popped him in the face and broke his nose" while they were in the locker room.

Obama says his friend asked him why he did that, and he told him ... "Don't ever call me something like that."

According to Spotify ... Barack and Bruce have been friends since they met on the campaign trail in 2008. The Prez awarded the famous singer the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.

Their podcast series is a 6-parter ... with the third episode coming soon.

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Barack Obama Broke Schoolmate's Nose for Calling Him ...