Obama Arrives in Washington

Brian Williams joins take-out trip for cheeseburger, fries

(NEWSER) - Yes, President Obama would like fries with that. The commander-in-chief made another cheeseburger run today, shelling out almost $80 on lunch for an entourage that included NBC’s Brian Williams, the Chicago Tribune reports. The president took aides and the Nightly News anchor, who’s trailing him for a “day-in-the-life” documentary, for take-out to a burger joint in southeast Washington. More»

(NEWSER) - An errant plane set off a brief security scare in Washington today, prompting the relocation of President Obama and VP Biden, Bloomberg reports. The small aircraft entered restricted airspace before being intercepted by military jets and obeying orders to leave the area and land at a nearby airport. During the alert, the White House and Capitol were locked down. More»

Chicago natives have played in worse weather, prez says

(NEWSER) - The ice storm plowing through Washington has many grown-ups wary of stepping outside, but it hasn’t fazed the first daughters, Politico reports. The Midwesterners were unimpressed that their school closed, President Obama said today, noting that Chicago schools never close. “My 7-year-old pointed out that in Chicago you’d go outside for recess. You wouldn’t even stay indoors.” He joked that Washington could use a little “flinty Chicago toughness.” More»

Writer savors the spirit of goodwill amid throng at inauguration

(NEWSER) - The lines were "the longest I have ever stood in," and the day was arctic, but there were no complaints to be heard from the jubilant throng in Washington yesterday, Garrison Keillor writes in Salon. "All kinds of people, the slim and sleek, the XXXLs, the heavily insulated, the carefree" slowly trekked toward the Capitol for the swearing-in of a new leader and the emergence of "a new America," Keillor writes—all radiating goodwill and a sense of the enormity of the occasion. "I simply was grateful to be among it." More»

(NEWSER) - While some fought to escape the Mall after the inauguration, thousands of frustrated ticketholders were barred from entering to see the swearing in of President Barack Obama, the Washington Post reports. “It is irresponsible to issue all of these tickets and not let the people in,” one Californian said. Hopeful attendees reported waiting in line for hours only to learn gates had been closed. More»