I, Barack Obama's Stand-In ...

Obama raising $45M in private funds to help pay massive bill

(NEWSER) - By the time Barack and Michelle Obama dance the last waltz at the inaugural balls in the wee hours next Wednesday morning, the total tab for the inauguration will be close to a record $160 million, reports the New York Daily News. The president-elect is raising $45 million in private funds to help pay for the extravaganza, but most costs will be borne by taxpayers. More»

Pressure from Congress over scalpers, counterfeit invitations

(NEWSER) - EBay and StubHub have removed offers for tickets to the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama from their websites. Tickets to the inauguration, a free but invitation-only event, have been offered for as much as $7,500, reports the Los Angeles Times. Some 240,000 people will attend the event outside the US Capitol January 20. 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»

Trash-bin shortage caused tons of litter to pile up

(NEWSER) - Crews working into the wee hours hauled away at least 130 tons of garbage after America’s largest, and messiest, outdoor bash Tuesday, the Washington Post reports. With trashcans removed for security precautions, inauguration attendees littered the National Mall, leaving it looking like a rendition of Disney's Wall-E. Obama gear, American flags, handwarmers, newspapers, and even vendor tables were left behind. 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»