Complete coverage of President Barack Obama

Clinton confirmed as secretary of state

The Senate confirmed Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state Wednesday as President Barack Obama moved to make his imprint on U.S. foreign policy, mobilizing a fresh team of veteran advisers and reaching out to world leaders.

Obama sworn in as 44th president of the United States

Barack Hussein Obama declared the start of "a new era of responsibility" as he was sworn in Tuesday to become the 44th president of the United States before more than 1 million cheering Americans who traveled from around the country to witness history.

Cheers from a distance as crowd watches Obama

Barack Obama wasn't anywhere near much of the crowd massed in Washington, D.C., for his inauguration as the first black president in U.S. history. But it didn't matter.

For Tuskegee Airmen, a long awaited dream realized

They had long held grand dreams. To prove they could fly as good as any pilot ever born. To raise families they could be proud of. To push back against racial discrimination that had hobbled their parents and threatened to limit their children.

Obama speech strong but anti-climatic

Barack Obama didn't always soar in his inaugural address Tuesday, but he scored the points he needed to satisfy the legion of hopeful supporters eagerly listening to the new president here and around the world.

Obama Inauguration

President Barack Obama: 'We must pick ourselves up'

Barack Obama made history today, becoming the first African-American president of the United States in a swearing-in ceremony before hundreds of thousands of exuberant spectators who braved frigid temperatures and jammed The Mall.

Long Islanders travel to Washington for ceremonies

"In today's sharp sparkle," said inaugural poet Elizabeth Alexander, "Anything can be made, any sentence begun."

Michelle Obama's inaugural dresses: Jason Wu, Isabel Toledo

"First of all, how good-looking is my wife?" asked President Barack Obama at the first of 10 official inaugural balls, as Michelle Obama revealed her second blockbuster outfit of the day: a white chiffon one-shoulder gown by Jason Wu.

LI NAACP members travel to D.C. for inauguration

In last fall's election, they couldn't wait to vote for Barack Obama. Tuesday in Washington, they couldn't wait to witness Obama making history.

Obama Inauguration

Obamas review inaugural parade from White House

->>See the latest inauguration photos

Obama Inauguration

Obama inauguration: Live updates from Newsday reporters

Newsday reporters are following Long Islanders who made the trek to the nation's capital, where Barack Obama has become the country's 44th president.

Obama Inauguration

LI teens in D.C.: Live updates all day

In addition to Newsday reporters, we've recruited some Long Island teenagers visiting DC to share their thoughts ...

Obama Inauguration

Live updates: Watching the Inaugural on LI

A round-up of coverage of people on Long Island watching the inauguration of Barack Obama.

Long Islanders in D.C.: Ready to witness history

They started to congregate before dawn Tuesday -- long before dawn -- the people drawn to Washington, D.C., to witness history.

Tips on navigating the inaugural coverage

The easy part? You've got a front seat to history in your own living room today. The hard part? Which seat to choose from.

Obama's security: Protective panels made in Hicksville

One of the layers of security protecting Barack Obama Tuesday as he's sworn in as president and makes his first speech as chief executive will be bullet- and blast-resistant glass panels produced by American Defense Systems Inc. of Hicksville and arrayed around the podium.

A new era for American politics

It's the end of a journey that began two years ago, when a black one-term senator from Illinois launched a long-shot run for president, and the beginning of a new era in American politics.

Inauguration Day, hour by hour, on your TV screen

With Barack Obama set to be inaugurated Tuesday as the nation's 44th president, the day figures to be one of the most-covered live events ever in television history. For Obama's swearing-in at noon, estimates put the potential worldwide audience in the billions. That figure that could dwarf viewership numbers for the Super Bowl and Academy Awards, and reach heights ordinarily seen only for the Olympics and the World Cup.

What Barack Obama must accomplish in inaugural speech

More than any other incoming president in the past, Barack Obama faces high expectations for the inaugural address he is to deliver Tuesday from the west steps of the U.S. Capitol building.

LI students thrilled with last-minute inaugural tickets

The Suffolk legislator who ran Barack Obama's presidential campaign on Long Island managed to secure 25 tickets to Tuesday's inauguration ceremony for the students and chaperones of a Wading River special education school.

The scoop on the 10 official inaugural balls

INAUGURAL PARTIES

Valley Stream woman heads to D.C. for inauguration

Annmarie Thompson of Valley Stream will be making her first visit to her adopted nation's capital to watch Barack Obama's swearing-in.

Gay couple, family from Queens head to inauguration

Michael Kandel of Douglaston, Queens, decided in October to attend Barack Obama's inauguration, he said, when his partner's 82-year-old mother decided to vote for the Illinois senator.

Financial woes mean tightened inaugural spending

As visitors to Washington D.C. take part in the nation's biggest-ever celebration, Scrooges coast to coast are wondering, with the economy in shambles, if all the money being spent on this partying is a tad inappropriate.

Is Obama's presidency the change hip-hop needs?

When he takes office Tuesday, President Barack Obama will have his hands full dealing with the economic downturn, the Gaza Strip conflict, terrorist threats in Afghanistan and any number of relentlessly pressing matters.

Little Flower students going to Washington for inauguration

They're not sure how close they'll get to the U.S. Capitol or what they'll be able to see.

Who will Michelle Obama wear on Inauguration Day?

"Who, who?" is the owlish cry of the fashion obsessed when it comes to the fashion choices Michelle Obama will make as she orbits into position as the world's most-watched woman on Tuesday.

Merchant Marine band chief heads to 11th inauguration

It will be understandable if Capt. Kenneth Force, director of music at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, experiences a bit of deja vu when he travels to Washington for Tuesday's inauguration of Barack Obama.

Republicans flee Washington ahead of Inauguration Day

WASHINGTON — Palm Springs, here they come!

Local campaign organizer models fashions for the inaugural ball

For 18 long months, Sherry Boucarut was on a personal "crusade" to get Barack Obama elected. "It was a dream, and the dream did come true," says the campaign organizer from Uniondale. And now, in less than a week, Boucarut, 57, heads to Washington, D.C., to enjoy the fruits of her labor.

Obama inaugural celebration features music's top names

Judging by the lineup, Sunday's inaugural celebration for Barack Obama at the Lincoln Memorial is a coveted gig for music's top names.

Trinity Church bells to ring in Obama presidency

Way up in the Trinity Church belfry on inauguration day, 12 men and women will pull thick ropes hanging from massive bells, marking with clamor the swearing-in of Barack Obama as the nation's first black president.

Obama's mother-in-law to stay at White House

WASHINGTON - Get ready for the in-law in chief.

Obama calls meeting of the presidents 'extraordinary'

WASHINGTON - Confronting a grim economy and a Middle East on fire, Barack Obama turned yesterday to perhaps the only people on the planet who understand what he's in for: the four living members of the U.S. presidents' club.

Obama names Killefer chief performance officer

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama announced yesterday that he is creating a new high-level position to wring waste and inefficiencies out of government, as part of a broader push to bring more discipline to federal spending.

Obama said to pick Virginia Gov. Kaine as DNC chief

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama has selected Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine as the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee, two Democrats said yesterday.

Obama: I had no contact with Blagojevich

CHICAGO - President-elect Barack Obama said yesterday a review by his own lawyer shows he had no direct contact with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich about the appointment of a Senate replacement, and transition aides did nothing inappropriate.

Obama names environmental and energy team

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama yesterday named an environmental and energy team that he said signaled his determination to tackle global warming quickly and develop alternative forms of energy.

Obama picks NYC housing commissioner as HUD secretary

CHICAGO - Promising a prominent role for his housing department, President-elect Barack Obama yesterday named a Harvard-educated architect to lead an agency dealing with the mortgage mess that dragged the country into a recession.

Obama announces it's Daschle for health secretary

Tom Daschle will be a "leading architect" of efforts to revamp the U.S. health-care system, President-elect Barack Obama said yesterday in announcing the former Senate Democratic leader as his pick to head the Health and Human Services Department.

Obama wants to repair America's global reputation

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama says he will try to "reboot America's image" among the world's Muslims and will follow tradition by using his entire name - Barack Hussein Obama - in his swearing-in ceremony.

High court won't hear case Obama citizenship case

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court has turned down an emergency appeal from a New Jersey man who says President-elect Barack Obama is ineligible to be president because he was a British subject at birth.

Obama: CEOs need to make sacrifices, too

President-elect Barack Obama said yesterday that executives at Wall Street banks should forgo their Christmas bonuses.

Arizona's Napolitano may be Homeland Security nominee

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama's expected nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, helped investigate the biggest U.S. terrorist event before Sept. 11 - the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing - and has been a national leader on immigration and border-security issues.

Malia and Sasha Obama's great White House adventure

One of the few times Barack Obama lost his famous cool during the presidential campaign was the day photographers got too close as he walked his youngest daughter, who was dressed as a corpse bride, to a Halloween party near their Chicago home."You've got a shot. Leave us alone," Obama barked.

Long Islanders seeking tickets to Obama inauguration

Mark X. Cronin, Long Island grassroots coordinator for Barack Obama, came on board the campaign with his wife, Carol Schlitt, in July 2007, and volunteered hundreds of hours, including 60-plus hours a week toward the end.

Barack Obama's election: A moment for the history books

For millions of Americans, 11:01 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Tuesday, Nov. 4, marked a moment of unbridled joy and disbelief that American history had brought the nation to this night. Barack Obama became the first black candidate elected to the nation's highest office.

LI pols weigh in on Obama's choice of Rahm Emanuel

As word spread Wednesday that Rahm Emanuel would become White House chief of staff, Emanuel chatted at one point with a friend who thinks the choice is good news for Long Island - Rep. Steve Israel.

Italian PM describes Obama as "young and tanned"

MOSCOW - Italy's famously impolitic Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi described U.S. President-elect Barack Obama yesterday as "young, handsome and even tanned."

Obama's chief of staff pick known for political acuity

CHICAGO - Rahm Emanuel combines political instincts, White House experience and a Chicago tough-guy attitude - traits he's likely to need as President-elect Barack Obama's new chief of staff.

Obama adds North Carolina to White House win

RALEIGH, N.C. - President-elect Barack Obama won North Carolina yesterday, a symbolic triumph that underscored his political strength as he turned nine states that President George W. Bush won in 2004 to Democratic blue.

LI NAACP chapters celebrate Obama's achievement

For those who struggled through some of the darkest days in the fight for civil rights, Barack Obama's ascendancy is their victory. Dora Myles, for one, said his election is a measure of how far the United States has come - and a reward for those who struggled through the civil rights movement.

Barack Obama elected president

In a seismic change in American politics, Barack Obama claimed victory Tuesday night over John McCain to become the next president of the United States.

Long Islanders vote for Obama by nearly 2-1

Long Islanders voted for Barack Obama for president by nearly 2-1, according to preliminary exit polls conducted Tuesday, reflecting a statewide trend that saw Obama dominate John McCain among voters of every race and age amid deep worries over the economy.

Barack Obama's election night speech

Text of Senator Barack Obama's speech upon winning the presidency of the United States.

Election 2008 on Long Island

Newsday's reporters were stationed throughout the Island and in the city, bringing you the latest updates on the voting.

Networks go slow in announcing Obama win

Tim Russert's famous declaration in 2000 was "Florida, Florida, Florida," and knowing a good thing when they heard it, the networks collectively chanted, "Ohio, Ohio, Ohio" in 2004. Last night viewers heard caution, caution, caution, which could be called a state of mind.

Add party martyr to McCain's list of sacrifices

In the end, we got to know the meaning of "Country First."

New president faces wish list from Island's reps in House

A new president in the White House is likely to face a wish list from Long Island's congressional delegation as lengthy as any department store Santa's.

Wishing my parents could see this American evolution

I wish Ma and Daddy were alive today.

First-time voters inspired to cast ballots

The voting booth gives citizens a rare chance to actually grasp the levers of democratic power, and the experience moved one first-timer Tuesday to describe the moment in sacramental terms.