Inauguration

Millions of people got a long-distance view of the "Lincoln Bible," one of those used by President Barack Obama for his second inauguration on Monday. Starting tomorrow, you can get a closer look at the velvet-covered Bible that was used for Abraham Lincoln's oath of office in 1861. The Library of Congress will put the Bible on display from Wednesday, Jan. 23 through Monday, Feb. 18, in the exhibition “The Civil War in America.” The 1,280-page Bible was provided to Lincoln by William Thomas Carroll, clerk of the Supreme Court, because the president's family Bible was packed with other belongings en route to Washington, the Library of Congress said in a statement.

Some approached the pool of brown water gingerly, jumping in with caution. The more adventurous ran toward it with purpose, leaping in with no hesitation. After all, it was the inaugural Carroll 5K Mud Run. The dirty, muddy water was supposed to be the highlight of the day. More than 500 people took part in the outdoor obstacle course at Freedom Park in Sykesville on Sunday, scaling an 8-foot wall, dashing over a bridge and crawling under stacks of hay. The Carroll 5K Mud Run wasn't as extreme as some other obstacle course races, which are 10 to 12 miles long and include parts where runners endure electric shocks.

Some came with their kids, not wanting to miss the opportunity to impart a message of political leadership in a live civics classroom hundreds of thousands of people strong. Others arrived with their own place in history in mind, considering President Barack Obama's second inauguration a second shot to celebrate the significance of the nation's first black president and be a part of it themselves. Whatever the reason, Maryland residents joined people from all across the country on Monday who braved the cold weather and long security lines to be on the National Mall for Obama's ceremonial swearing in. 'A piece of history' Matt Jacobson, 30, and friends Chris Franzoni, 31, and Stan Kimmel, 32, were on the mall early after celebrating the Ravens' win the night before at a D.C. bar, where they'd put a Ray Lewis jersey on an Obama cut-out.

Although it leads the East Coast in several categories of shipping activity, the port of Baltimore often seems to be hiding in plain sight. So officials used the Saturday observance of National Maritime Day to throw open a pier at the Canton Marine Terminal and invite 28 businesses and agencies that call the port home to hold a career day. "It's the first time we've done this," said former Rep. Helen Delich Bentley, for whom the port is named....

Barack Obama may already have been officially inaugurated yesterday, but don't tell that to the people on Washington's National Mall this morning: A second, more outdoor ceremony today will give the public a view as Obama starts his second term. Some of that public will be recovering from not-fully-remembered AFC Championship viewing parties, as the Baltimore Ravens start preparing for the Super Bowl . Finally, Lebron James did not spare his thoughts as the Sacramento Kings sold for a princely sum. See full details via the links below.

THE inauguration of an American president is supposed to be a solemn affair, a glorious affair. It is also supposed to be an affirming moment for the nation, a defining time for our perception of ourselves as a people.Then why, in the joyousness of this coming week, do I feel confused? Why do I feel that, far from knowing more than I usually do, I seem to be knowing even less?There is this curious business of everyone being instructed to ring bells to mark the moment of President-elect Bill Clinton's assumption of power -- as if this were not the inauguration of a democratic American president but the resurrection of the Christ child!

Watching the inauguration of President Barack Obama filled me with enthusiasm for the next four years. My only disappointment was the singers chosen to sing our patriotic songs ("History revisited," Jan. 22). Why do these young singers have to spoil our beautiful patriotic songs by putting on their own interpretation, dragging the songs out, hitting off-key notes and screeching? This is not music. They should be required to listen to recordings of Kate Smith singing "God Bless America.

ANNAPOLIS -- Gov. William Donald Schaefer, beset by tough economic times, won't be wining, dining and dancing with 900 invited guests to celebrate his second inauguration Jan. 16.Austerity is the byword. And the four post-inaugural receptions have been canceled.The inaugural committee mailed 16,000 invitations to public officials, Mr. Schaefer's friends and supporters of his political campaign. About 2,500 people are expected to attend the outdoor ceremony. But there'll be no parties for the select 900.It's just one more example of what Paul E. Schurick, the governor's press secretary, said will be a "low-key, austere and very, very traditional" inauguration.

By the time the phone calls started pouring in from Ravens fans seeking transportation to Sunday's conference championship game outside Boston, Superior Tours in Baltimore was already expecting a busy holiday weekend. The company had charter buses booked for the presidential inauguration on Monday for more than a year. Managers tried this week to find another bus and put together a travel package for the Ravens game, but the effort fell apart because of the time crunch. "It just all fell on a really busy weekend," said Jeff Komins, one of the company's managers.

Louise Johnson popped out of her seat at the Patapsco Arena in South Baltimore - taking a break from tying decorative gold and silver sashes to the backs of hundreds of chairs - and smiled warmly at a man delivering newly pressed gleaming white tablecloths. The 75-year-old West Baltimore resident exuded enthusiasm and energy - traits that are particularly needed in times like these, when well-heeled insiders from Annapolis and Washington are dry-cleaning formal wear and confirming invitations to inaugural balls.

Two defending champions from the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association will participate in the inaugural Under Armour Brothers In Arms Classic high school football event this fall. Gilman, which has won the past two MIAA A Conference championships, is scheduled to play Manatee (Fla.) on Sept. 1 at 2:30 p.m. at the University of Maryland's Byrd Stadium. In the first game that day, two-time defending MIAA C Conference champion St. Frances -- which is moving to the A Conference this fall -- is set to face Friendship (D.C.)

Steven Leibowitz is trying to run as fast as he can, but the trail is muddy and tree roots are hiding under the soil, slowing him down. Now there's a stream blocking his path, with no way to cross, save a few widely spaced rocks. But Leibowitz can't give up. He has to keep running. It might sound like a scene from "The Hunger Games" or "The Blair Witch Project. " But for a runner in the XTERRA Trail Run Series, it's just the path to the finish line. XTERRA, a national multisport company, puts on races that are much more than your average 5K on the street.

It's sometimes said that a lame-duck president is a weakened leader from the first day of his last term. The two-term limit of the 22nd Amendment, imposed by wrathful Republicans in 1951 in response to FDR's breach of the George Washington tradition, is supposedly a political kiss of death against achieving future goals. But President Barack Obama, in his second inaugural address and then in his State of the Union Address starting his second term, issued a blunt pushback against the lame-duck sentence.

Old Tippecanoe, the ninth president of the United States, was born 240 years ago today. He remains the president with the shortest term in office, having died a month after his inauguration. An elderly gentleman, he insisted on making a prolonged and unremarkable inaugural address in bad weather, caught a bad cold, and succumbed, bequeathing executive authority to John Tyler, "His Accidency," who would later distinguish himself as the only former president to make his allegiance to the Confederacy.

Pop icon Beyonce didn't sidestep the lip-sync controversy that erupted after her performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at President Barack Obama's inauguration. She embraced it. Before she took the podium to talk about Sunday's Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show, she walked onstage at the Earnest N. Morial Convention Center with a hand-held microphone and belted out a flawless version of the National Anthem. "Any questions?" she said. It wasn't the most dynamic lead-up to the halftime extravaganza.

Watching the inauguration of President Barack Obama filled me with enthusiasm for the next four years. My only disappointment was the singers chosen to sing our patriotic songs ("History revisited," Jan. 22). Why do these young singers have to spoil our beautiful patriotic songs by putting on their own interpretation, dragging the songs out, hitting off-key notes and screeching? This is not music. They should be required to listen to recordings of Kate Smith singing "God Bless America.

She'd never seen a presidential inauguration in her life, or wanted to, but on Jan. 20, 2009, Nathasa Werts braved bone-chilling weather and a crowd of more than a million people for a trip to Washington. The nation had just elected its first black president, after all, and Werts, an African-American mother of three, finally felt a part of the process. "Our ancestors were slaves, and that's an ugly past, but that election told us we have the power to turn all that around," the Pikesville woman recalled.

WASHINGTON -- Marion S. Barry Jr. completed his remarkable political comeback yesterday, triumphantly taking the oath of office that returned him to the mayor's job he left in disgrace four years ago.The inauguration ceremony, held before about 3,000 people in the University of the District of Columbia gymnasium, was rich in the symbols of redemption that have fueled Mr. Barry's campaign to recapture his old job.The poet Maya Angelou, who spoke at President...

(Note: This post has nothing to do with Baltimore other than the fact the performance discussed took place sort of close to it. And, Beyonce is performing at the Super Bowl this year -- where the Ravens will take on the 49ers. This is more of a rant that I felt needed to be said.) Congratulations Lance Armstrong and Manti Te'o, there's a new national nightmare for everyone to debate ad nauseam . This one, at least, is simpler: Beyonce. Inauguration. Lip-syncing. Huh, really?

As much as this week's bone-chilling temperatures might offer "cold" comfort to those who deny its existence, the threat of climate change earned a prominent spot in President Barack Obama's inaugural address on Monday. That was welcome, if overdue, given how little discussion this enormous challenge to the nation's well-being received during last year's campaign. For those who missed it, President Obama pledged to "respond" to climate change for the sake of future generations. He acknowledged that some still deny the "overwhelming judgment of science" but also noted its more obvious effects of recent years — raging fires, crippling droughts and more-powerful storms.