In March of 2009, journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were captured by North Korean soldiers. In June, they were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in a prison camp.
When former president Bill Clinton flew to North Korea to meet with Kim Jong-il in August, the journalists were finally pardoned and released.
Yesterday, Laura Ling and her husband welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Li Jefferson. The baby’s first name was inspired by Ling’s sister, Lisa. Her middle name, Jefferson, pays tribute to Clinton, whose middle name is also Jefferson.
Sources: Laura Ling Names Baby Girl After Bill Clinton, Laura Ling Names New Baby for Her Sister and Bill Clinton
I think Li is sweet, but Jefferson? I mean, I understand they want to honour Clinton, but I automatically think of Thomas not Bill, and I think something like Wilhelmina or Clinton in the middle name spot would have been a more common sense choice.