Obama Train Challenges Secret Service

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama rolled into Washington tonight on the last stop of his historic whistlestop train journey, the Washington Post reports. Obama retraced the path of Abraham Lincoln and called for a "new declaration of independence" for the nation. To see photos of the trip—which Joe Biden joined in Wilmington, Del.—click on Slideshow. To read more about it, click on the links. More»

Train journey from Philadelphia to capital via Baltimore echoes Lincoln's historic ride

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama will follow in Abraham Lincoln's tracks by taking a train to Washington for his inauguration, the New York Daily News reports. The president-elect plans to set off from Philadelphia on January 17, stopping in Wilmington—where Joe Biden will hop aboard—and Baltimore before entering the capital by rail the same night. More»

(NEWSER) - "All are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness," declared the 44th president of the United States in his first inaugural address. Invoking the memories of slaves, soldiers and the generations of Americans who toiled before him, the nation's first black president delivered the most anticipated speech in history in front of 2 million cheering Americans. More»

Record staff, supplies needed to counter crowds, threats

(NEWSER) - It is an almost unimaginably difficult job: as Washington floods with millions of visitors, the Secret Service has to comb through and pick out all potential sources of danger to the new president. This means, as the London Times reports, a record five tons of bulletproof glass, tens of thousands of security forces, and near-invincible vehicles. The Secret Service even removed the doorknobs from buildings overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue. More»

Crowds will line 137 mile rail route to DC

(NEWSER) - Crowds of Barack Obama supporters are expected to line the railroad tracks between Philadelphia and Washington when the president-elect retraces Abraham Lincoln's journey to Washington the weekend before his inauguration, the AP reports. Authorities don't know how many people will throng the 137 miles of tracks but are using the funeral procession of Robert Kennedy—which drew an estimated 1 million mourners—as a guide. More»