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1.5 million flooded the National Mall Tuesday for the inauguration of Barack Obama, according to an analysis of satellite imagery. The event was witnessed by millions more through television and Internet coverage.
Collected here are photographs of the event, the participants, and some of the witnesses around the world. [via The Big Picture]
The inauguration went off without a hitch — nevermind that Chief Justice Roberts flubbed some words and had to re-administer the oath of presidency later (to make it official). In case you missed the inaugural address, click here for a full transcript.
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In keeping with the theme that swept President Obama into the Oval Office, change also came to the official White House Website. Almost at the instant Obama was sworn in, whitehouse.gov relaunched with a redesign to signal a new era in government. Gone was the staid site of the Bush White House, replaced by a dynamic new site reflective of his tech savvy successor.
And yes, Obama will be keeping his Blackberry (dubbed the “BarackBerry”), although access will be limited to a select few.
House Dems offer $825B stimulus bill
After weeks of talks with President-elect Barack Obama’s top aides, House Democrats on Thursday released an expansive economic recovery plan that calls for $550 billion in spending and aid to states and $275 billion in tax cuts. [via CNNMoney]
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Congressional stimulus package includes billions in extra research funding.
Democratic leadership in the US House of Representatives unveiled on Thursday an $825 billion economic stimulus bill that includes tens of billions of dollars in new funding for basic research, science infrastructure and clean-energy initiatives.
Organizations representing the research community applauded the proposal, citing massive infusions of cash for both physical and biological sciences throughout the federal science agencies. But some questioned whether the one-time infusion would matter much to agencies whose budgets have flatlined or been lower than expected in recent years.
As part of a massive collection of tax cuts and spending initiatives, the 258-page blueprint released by House appropriators would pump $3 billion into the National Science Foundation (NSF), $2 billion into the National Institutes of Health (NIH), $1.9 billion into the Department of Energy and $1.5 billion into university research facilities. Much of that money would be directed toward science infrastructure like renovating buildings or laboratories, but the NSF and NIH would receive $2 billion and $1.5 billion respectively that could be used to pay for thousands of basic research grants that have already been approved but for which there was previously not enough money. [via Nature]
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I’m quite keen on this new commemorative inaugural print by Shepard Fairey. This would look great as a shirt. [via ObeyGiant]
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This weekend, America’s capital city will welcome thousands of government officials and dignitaries from the U.S. and around the world. Over 10,000 buses will carry 500,000 riders into Washington, D.C., doubling the city’s population. On Inauguration Day, the Metro is expected to have a 17-hour rush hour. District bars will be open 24-hours a day for five straight days. To manage an event of this scale, the District of Columbia will spend a mammoth $47 million. It is not enough.
Obama’s Inauguration is expected to be the largest inaugural event in American history–and the most challenging to orchestrate. A committee of local elected officials estimates that ensuring the safety and wellbeing of everyone involved in the festivities will cost over $75 million. [via Forbes]
Yikes, the logistics are nightmarish (it’s like hosting a gargantuan statewide rock concert). It’s going to be a crazy four days until 1.20.09! I will most likely be living vicariously through friends who snatched up tickets to the inauguration.
Hillary Rodham Clinton has decided to give up her Senate seat and accept the nomination for secretary of state after additional discussion with President-elect Barack Obama about the nature of her role, two confidants of Mrs. Clinton said Friday.
[Clinton to Accept Secretary of State Nomination, Confidants Say via NYT]
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I can’t wait for Obama’s historic inaugration in January! Security is being heavily intensified for the record turnout (4 million?). I’m expecting a crowd of most epic proportions.
“…the overwhelming demand to attend the swearing-in ceremony has caused online scalping at sites like eBay’s ticket venture StubHub and Craigslist for prices reaching as much as $40,000.” [eBay bans sale of Obama inauguration tickets via The Register]
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Speaking of epic proportions:
This article alerted me about paper in Current Biology that I had to hunt down:
Matz et al., Giant Deep-Sea Protist Produces Bilaterian-like Traces, Current Biology (2008), doi:10.1016/j.cub.2008.10.028
Scarce fossil evidence in the Precambrian makes it difficult to pin down when organisms with bilateral symmetry first arose. Did it occur before, as molecular evidence suggests, or concurrently with the massive speciation during the Cambrian? Matz et al. suggests that trace fossils currently assigned to early Bilaterians could also be attributed to megaprotozoans.
The thought of gargantuan amoebas lumbering along the ocean floors, leaving Bilaterian tracks and fooling paleontologists all the while, makes me chuckle – what a wonderful oxymoron!
I <3 unicellular organisms.
