Yo-Yo Ma 'Finger-Synched' Inauguration Gig

Technology 'cut the driver out of the picture,' says taxi boss

(NEWSER) - GPS technology reunited a violinist with the $600,000 instrument he left in a New York cab yesterday, the Times reports. After Korean musician Hanh-Bin left a vehicle without his 18th-century instrument, the Taxi and Limousine Commission was able to find it in less than an hour, using the cab’s GPS transmitters and Hanh-Bin’s route to figure out which car the musician took. More»

Ceremonies fully funded by trinkets, donations

(AP) - Barack Obama's inauguration fundraisers had no problem capitalizing on a hot market for keepsakes. Obama-themed clothing, jewelry, rulers, and piggy banks raked in a grant total of $2 million for the inaugural committee. Even before the tchotchke change, the committee was already debt-free—the $53 million in individual donations disclosed earlier this week put total fundraising well ahead of the $50 million cost of the swearing-in. More»

(NEWSER) - Aretha Franklin’s inauguration hat has been mercilessly mocked by some, but lots of people want one of their very own. The Detroit millinery where Franklin has been a customer for 20 years has been flooded with calls for orders, the AP reports. But Aretha wannabes soon learn that the hand-molded $500 hat isn't for sale—it was custom-designed for her. Instead, customers can order a slightly different version for $179. More»

Tongue-in-cheek column mocks critics

(NEWSER) - You might be euphoric after Barack Obama’s inauguration, but “not everyone feels the ‘Obama high,’” writes Lloyd Garver on the Huffington Post. These “Democrat-haters” who “enjoy puncturing balloons of hope” probably viewed Inauguration Day through slightly less rose-colored glasses than you did: For one thing, “How bad was that inaugural poem? It didn't even rhyme. And Aretha Franklin's hat looked like something Dick Cheney tried to shoot.” More»

Thousands waited in tunnel; Feinstein apologizes

(NEWSER) - As President Obama’s inauguration approached, thousands of would-be spectators got stuck in an immobile line that stretched into a tunnel beneath the National Mall. And there they waited, for hours, missing the ceremony despite their tickets. With their plight getting more publicity—yep, there's now a Facebook group—Sen. Dianne Feinstein has apologized and is seeking a probe by the Secret Service and other law enforcement into what went wrong, the Los Angeles Times reports. More»