House Republicans plan to keep debt limit but suspend it until May

Forget about raising the federal debt limit. House Republicans are proposing to ignore it altogether -- at least until May 18.

The House plans to vote Wednesday on a measure that would leave the $16.4 trillion debt limit intact but declare that it “shall not apply” from the date the measure passes until mid-May.

This approach -- novel in modern times -- would let Republicans avoid a potentially disastrous fight over the debt limit without actually voting to let the Treasury borrow more money.

The House Ways and Means Committee unveiled the measure Monday; it is scheduled for a hearing in the Rules Committee on Tuesday and to hit the House floor on Wednesday. In addition to postponing a partisan fight over the debt limit, the measure seeks to force Senate Democrats to negotiate over a formal budget resolution by mandating that lawmakers’ paychecks be held in escrow starting April 15 unless Congress adopts a comprehensive framework for spending and tax policy.

White House spokesman Jay Carney on Wednesday called the House Republicans’ plan “a very significant development in reducing the conflict over this and reducing the fear over a process that had always had the potential spinning out of control.”

Carney said the administration takes heart “from the numerous statements of Republicans leading up to this decision, the statements from Republicans who made clear it was not the right thing to do to play chicken with the full faith and credit of the United States. It’s not the right thing to do to extract demands from the president and Democratic Party.”

On future negotiations over the deficit, Carney said that “we can, as the president made clear, negotiate in good faith toward further deficit reduction.”

It was unclear early Tuesday how Senate Democrats would respond to the measure, assuming it is adopted by the House. But Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Democrats are planning to draft a budget for the first time in nearly four years, and White House political adviser David Plouffe on Sunday welcomed the return to “regular order” after two years of careening from crisis to crisis on the budget.

The national debt hit the $16.4 trillion limit on New Year’s Eve, according to the Treasury Department, but outgoing Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has said he could juggle the books and keep paying the nation’s bills through the end of February. By suspending the debt limit, the House measure would permit the Treasury to continue borrowing, averting a potential crisis in world financial markets. But the Treasury would only be allowed to take on enough new debt to meet the nation’s immediate needs; the measure prohibits administration officials from stocking up on extra cash while the debt limit is suspended.

The limit would kick in once again on May 19, when House leaders presume Congress will have agreed on a long-term strategy to rein in budget deficits driven to record levels by the recent recession. While the measure removes the threat of immediate crisis from a default, Congress faces other deadlines to force action on the budget. In addition to the halt in congressional paychecks, lawmakers face the imposition of sharp automatic spending cuts on March 1 and a potential government shutdown on March 27.

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SGX's Q2 net profit rises 17% to S$76m

SINGAPORE : Rising interest in derivatives trading helped lift earnings for the Singapore Exchange (SGX) last quarter.

Asia's second-largest bourse operator reported a 17 per cent on-year rise in second-quarter net profit to S$76 million.

It also attracted a large number of new bond listings in the same quarter.

Derivatives trading has been the star performer in SGX.

Over the October to December quarter, derivatives daily average volume on SGX hit a record of 358,532 contracts, up 30 per cent on-year.

This was supported by rising trading interests in China A50 futures and Japan Nikkei 225 options.

Not to be undone, the securities market performed well too.

Its daily average volume rose 8 per cent for the quarter to hit a trading value of S$1.2 billion.

This translates to a revenue of S$58 million for the securities business segment.

SGX said the better performance was due to improvements in investor sentiment following stability over the Europe debt situation and improved US economy.

Magnus Bocker, chief executive officer of Singapore Exchange, said: "We should remember the enormous amount of liquidity in the market. Not so much in the equity market, but actually more in the fixed income and currency markets, and with chasing yields and lot of very successful and growing companies, I think we can all expect this sentiment to continue. I think we can expect more flows into securities."

Some analysts are bullish on SGX's prospects going forward.

The said the improved investment climate globally may benefit the exchange operator.

Ken Ang, investment analyst at Phillip Securities Research, said: "SGX is very well placed to benefit from this increasing attractiveness of the equity market and therefore resulting in increase in trading value."

SGX attracted eight new listings in its second quarter - raising S$798.9 million.

While the number seems small, it came amid declines in the global initial public offering (IPO) market.

In 2012, global IPO volumes fell 27 per cent, with the lowest level of funds raised since 2009.

Kenneth Ng, head of Singapore research at CIMB Research, said: "I think while that (derivative) is great and that diversified the revenue of SGX, SGX still has a rather pertinent problem of trying to increase the security turnover velocity and value by retail initiatives, attracting listings and so forth."

Apart from seeking more IPOs, SGX also attracted some 90 new bond listings, raising S$39.7 billion for the quarter.

- CNA/ms

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7 disciples of Asaram Bapu summoned by court today

AHMEDABAD: Seven disciples of self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, who were accused in the case of mysterious death of two children at his ashram here in 2008, were today summoned by a local court.

Chief metropolitan magistrate D B Barot today issued the summons and ordered all seven disciples of Asaram to remain present tomorrow when they will be given copies of charge sheets filed against them by investigating agency, CID(Crime), said advocate Chandrashekhar Gupta.

Two children - Dipesh Vaghela and his cousin Abhishek Vaghela, who were studying in Asaram Bapu's Gurukul at Motera here, had died in July, 2008 which led to a statewide uproar and protests.

Their parents had alleged that the 'black magic' performed by Asaram and his son Narayan Sai was responsible for the death of their kids, whose dead bodies were found few metres away from the Gurukul at the banks of Sabarmati river.

State government has handed over the probe of the case to state CID (Crime) which, after the major statewide outcry against Asaram, had registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Sec 304 of IPC) against the seven disciples of Asaram who were working at the Ashram or in Gurukul in different capacities at the time of the death of the children.

The investigating agency has filed an FIR against Vikas Khemka, Uday Sanghani, Ajay Shah, Kaushik Vani, Minketan Patra, Yogesh Bhati and Pankaj Saxena.

All these accused had challenged the FIR in the Gujarat high court which had, in a judgement in 2011, ordered CID (Crime) to quash the charges of culpable homicide and register the offence under section 304(A) of the IPC (causing death by negligence) against them.

Following the high court order, which was later upheld by the Supreme Court as well when parents of two kids had challenged the HC order in the Apex court, all seven accused had surrendered before the Metropolitan court and they were released on bail.

Subsequently, in August last year CID (Crime) had filed a charge sheet against all the seven accused.

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Newly Discovered Nebula Looks Like a Manatee

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's ... a manatee? The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) believes that a gas cloud in the constellation Aquila bears an uncanny resemblance to the endangered aquatic mammal.

Heidi Winter, executive assistant to NRAO's director, first noticed the similarity. And Tania Burchell, an NRAO media producer who used to work in manatee conservation, quickly saw it as "a wonderful opportunity to bridge two worlds—biology and astronomy."

The cloud, or nebula, which is named W50, has more in common with manatees than just its shape. It is the remnant of a star explosion from 20,000 years ago. Particle beams that shoot from the explosion's center, where a star and a black hole orbit each other, form a spiral pattern resembling scars.

Manatees also bear scars. "Around 80 percent of manatees in Florida have visible scarring," said Michael Lusk, manager of Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge. Because manatees prefer shallow water, collisions with boat propellers are frequent.

The resemblance continues. Like the "sea cow," which can blend into murky water, the nebula is hard to spot. It's approximately 18,000 light-years away, so only one bright arc can be seen by the human eye. Astronomers first saw the ghostly nebula with a telescope that collects a kind of light that radiates at longer wavelengths called radio waves.

W50's new nickname, the Manatee Nebula, and its first photos were unveiled January 19 at the Florida Manatee Festival. "People have an underlying love for the natural world—sky or sea," said Burchell. "We're human beings on this planet, looking up or looking down."

The event marks the 40th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, which aims to protect critical habitats. Florida's manatee population has risen from around 700 in the 1970s to 5,000 today, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering reclassifying the species from endangered to threatened.

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Group Finds More Fake Ingredients in Popular Foods

It's what we expect as shoppers—what's in the food will be displayed on the label.

But a new scientific examination by the non-profit food fraud detectives the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP), discovered rising numbers of fake ingredients in products from olive oil to spices to fruit juice.

"Food products are not always what they purport to be," Markus Lipp, senior director for Food Standards for the independent lab in Maryland, told ABC News.

In a new database to be released Wednesday, and obtained exclusively by ABC News today, USP warns consumers, the FDA and manufacturers that the amount of food fraud they found is up by 60 percent this year.

USP, a scientific nonprofit that according to their website "sets standards for the identity, strength, quality, and purity of medicines, food ingredients, and dietary supplements manufactured, distributed and consumed worldwide" first released the Food Fraud Database in April 2012.

The organization examined more than 1,300 published studies and media reports from 1980-2010. The update to the database includes nearly 800 new records, nearly all published in 2011 and 2012.

Among the most popular targets for unscrupulous food suppliers? Pomegranate juice, which is often diluted with grape or pear juice.

"Pomegranate juice is a high-value ingredient and a high-priced ingredient, and adulteration appears to be widespread," Lipp said. "It can be adulterated with other food juices…additional sugar, or just water and sugar."

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Lipp added that there have also been reports of completely "synthetic pomegranate juice" that didn't contain any traces of the real juice.

USP tells ABC News that liquids and ground foods in general are the easiest to tamper with:

• Olive oil: often diluted with cheaper oils


• Lemon juice: cheapened with water and sugar


• Tea: diluted with fillers like lawn grass or fern leaves


• Spices: like paprika or saffron adulterated with dangerous food colorings that mimic the colors

Milk, honey, coffee and syrup are also listed by the USP as being highly adulterated products.

Also high on the list: seafood. The number one fake being escolar, an oily fish that can cause stomach problems, being mislabeled as white tuna or albacore, frequently found on sushi menus.

National Consumers League did its own testing on lemon juice just this past year and found four different products labeled 100 percent lemon juice were far from pure.

"One had 10 percent lemon juice, it said it had 100 percent, another had 15 percent lemon juice, another...had 25 percent, and the last one had 35 percent lemon juice," Sally Greenberg, Executive Director for the National Consumers League said. "And they were all labeled 100 percent lemon juice."

Greenberg explains there are indications to help consumers pick the faux from the food.

"In a bottle of olive oil if there's a dark bottle, does it have the date that it was harvested?" she said. While other products, such as honey or lemon juice, are more difficult to discern, if the price is "too good to be true" it probably is.

"$5.50, that's pretty cheap for extra virgin olive oil," Greenberg said. "And something that should raise some eyebrows for consumers."

Many of the products USP found to be adulterated are those that would be more expensive or research intensive in its production.
"Pomegranate juice is expensive because there is little juice in a pomegranate," Lipp said.

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President Obama’s second inaugural address (Transcript)

Here’s President Obama’s second inaugural address as prepared for delivery on Jan. 21, 2013 .

MORE COVERAGE: Obama takes oath for second term | A lighter crowd than four years ago | Obama starts term with eye on legacy

OBAMA: Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:

Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy. We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional - what makes us American - is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.

For more than two hundred years, we have.

Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free. We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.

Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce; schools and colleges to train our workers.

Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.

Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.

Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government alone. Our celebration of initiative and enterprise; our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, are constants in our character.

But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action. For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people. This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has begun. America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention. My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it - so long as we seize it together.

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37 foreigners killed in Algeria hostage crisis: PM

ALGIERS: Thirty-seven foreigners of eight different nationalities were killed during the hostage crisis at an Algerian gas plant that was overrun by Islamist gunmen, Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said on Monday.

"Thirty-seven foreigners of eight different nationalities," were killed during the four-day siege, Sellal told a news conference in Algiers, without specifying their nationalities.

One Algerian also lost his life, bringing the giving an overall toll of 38, while five foreigners were still missing, he added.

Among those that other official sources have already confirmed to have died in the siege were one Frenchman, one American, two Romanians, three Britons, six Filipinos and seven Japanese.

During the army's final assault on the plant, Sellal said the remaining gunmen executed several hostages by shooting them in the head.

The interior ministry had on Saturday given a preliminary toll of 23 foreign and Algerian hostages killed during the siege, which ended on Saturday with Algerian forces storming the remaining part of the complex still in militant hands.

The ministry said 685 Algerian and 107 foreign hostages were freed.

Sellal also said that the 32 militants who overran the In Amenas gas facility, taking hundreds of workers hostage, came from northern Mali. Twenty-nine of them were killed and three arrested.

He said the group's leader was Mohamed el-Amine Bencheneb, an Algerian militant known to the country's security services, and that he was killed during the army's assault.

As well as the three Algerians among them, the kidnappers had six foreign nationalities, namely Canadian, Egyptian, Tunisian, Malian, Nigerian and Mauritanian.

- AFP/xq

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Congress takes a dig at NCP chief Sharad Pawar

MUMBAI: The Congress has reacted angrily to NCP Chief SharadPawar's statement on Sunday which "appeared to ridicule" the decision to appoint Rahul Gandhi as the party's vice- president.

On Monday taking a dig at its alliance partner, state Congress president Manikrao Thakre stated that unlike the NCP the Congress doesn't have any doubts on who should lead the party. "The Congress is not unstable, we are very clear in our minds as to who should be leading our party, unlike the NCP that is confused between Ajit Pawar and Supriya Sule to lead the party," Thakre added.

The Congress leader's remark was supposed to hurt the NCP as there is a power struggle going on between the Pawar's nephew Ajit and his daughter Supriya.

Thakre's statement came after NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday when asked to react on Rahul Gandhi's ascension to the Congress top post said, "Let them decide, it is their party's decision. How can I comment on other party's functioning? As far as our party is concerned we still don't have reached the situation where the party has to work under Supriya." Pawar's statement was clearly snubbing the Congress choice. The remark meant that all the senior Congress leaders would now have to work under Rahul's regime.

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Attack at Algeria Gas Plant Heralds New Risks for Energy Development

The siege by Islamic militants at a remote Sahara desert natural gas plant in Algeria this week signaled heightened dangers in the region for international oil companies, at a time when they have been expanding operations in Africa as one of the world's last energy frontiers. (See related story: "Pictures: Four New Offshore Drilling Frontiers.")

As BP, Norway's Statoil, Italy's Eni, and other companies evacuated personnel from Algeria, it was not immediately clear how widely the peril would spread in the wake of the hostage-taking at the sprawling In Amenas gas complex near the Libyan border.

Map by National Geographic

Algeria, the fourth-largest crude oil producer on the continent and a major exporter of natural gas and refined fuels, may not have been viewed as the most hospitable climate for foreign energy companies, but that was due to unfavorable financial terms, bureaucracy, and corruption. The energy facilities themselves appeared to be safe, with multiple layers of security provided both by the companies and by government forces, several experts said. (See related photos: "Oil States: Are They Stable? Why It Matters.")

"It is particularly striking not only because it hasn't happened before, but because it happened in Algeria, one of the stronger states in the region," says Hanan Amin-Salem, a senior manager at the industry consulting firm PFC Energy, who specializes in country risk. She noted that in the long civil war that gripped the country throughout the 1990s, there had never been an attack on Algeria's energy complex. But now, hazard has spread from weak surrounding states, as the assault on In Amenas was carried out in an apparent retaliation for a move by French forces against the Islamists who had taken over Timbuktu and other towns in neighboring Mali. (See related story: "Timbuktu Falls.")

"What you're really seeing is an intensification of the fundamental problem of weak states, and empowerment of heavily armed groups that are really well motivated and want to pursue a set of aims," said Amin-Salem. In PFC Energy's view, she says, risk has increased in Mauritania, Chad, and Niger—indeed, throughout Sahel, the belt that bisects North Africa, separating the Sahara in the north from the tropical forests further south.

On Thursday, the London-based corporate consulting firm Exclusive Analysis, which was recently acquired by the global consultancy IHS, sent an alert to clients warning that oil and gas facilities near the Libyan and Mauritanian borders and in Mauritania's Hodh Ech Chargui province were at "high risk" of attack by jihadis.

"A Hot Place to Drill"

The attack at In Amenas comes at a time of unprecedented growth for the oil industry in Africa. (See related gallery: "Pictures: The Year's Most Overlooked Energy Stories.") Forecasters expect that oil output throughout Africa will double by 2025, says Amy Myers Jaffe, executive director of the energy and sustainability program at the University of California, Davis, who has counted 20 rounds of bidding for new exploration at sites in Africa's six largest oil-producing states.

Oil and natural gas are a large part of the Algerian economy, accounting for 60 percent of government budget revenues, more than a third of GDP and more than 97 percent of its export earnings. But the nation's resources are seen as largely undeveloped, and Algeria has tried to attract new investment. Over the past year, the government has sought to reform the law to boost foreign companies' interests in their investments, although those efforts have foundered.

Technology has been one of the factors driving the opening up of Africa to deeper energy exploration. Offshore and deepwater drilling success in the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil led to prospecting now under way offshore in Ghana, Mozambique, and elsewhere. (See related story: "New Oil—And a Huge Challenge—for Ghana.") Jaffe says the Houston-based company Anadarko Petroleum has sought to transfer its success in "subsalt seismic" exploration technology, surveying reserves hidden beneath the hard salt layer at the bottom of the sea, to the equally challenging seismic exploration beneath the sands of the Sahara in Algeria, where it now has three oil and gas operations.

Africa also is seen as one of the few remaining oil-rich regions of the world where foreign oil companies can obtain production-sharing agreements with governments, contracts that allow them a share of the revenue from the barrels they produce, instead of more limited service contracts for work performed.

"You now have the technology to tap the resources more effectively, and the fiscal terms are going to be more attractive than elsewhere—you put these things together and it's been a hot place to drill," says Jaffe, who doesn't see the energy industry's interest in Africa waning, despite the increased terrorism risk. "What I think will happen in some of these countries is that the companies are going to reveal new securities systems and procedures they have to keep workers safe," she says. "I don't think they will abandon these countries."

This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues. For more, visit The Great Energy Challenge.

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LIVE UPDATES: President Obama's Big Day

Four years and one day after President Obama first took his first oath of office, America is once again celebrating his Inauguration. This time the schedule includes performances by Beyonce and Katy Perry, a parade with more than 2,000 members of the military and two Inaugural balls.

Refresh here for updates throughout the day.

Tune in to the ABC News.com Live page on Monday morning starting at 9:30 a.m. EST for all-day live streaming video coverage of Inauguration 2013: Barack Obama. Live coverage will also be available on the ABC News iPad App and mobile devices.

Read Obama’s first Inaugural address here.

All times are in Eastern Standard Time.

11:50 a.m. – Obama Takes Oath for Fourth Time

(Image Credit: ABC NEWS)

With his hand on two Bibles held by his two daughters, President Barack Obama took the inaugural oath for a fourth time. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath.

11:38 a.m. – Evers-Williams Delivers Invocation

11:33 a.m. – ABC Correspondent Tweets from Pakistan

11:30 a.m. – Ryan Congratulates Obama

ABC’s Elizabeth Hartfield reports:

No word from Mitt Romney, but his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan sent out a congrats to President Obama.

Ryan posted a longer congratulations on his Facebook page.

I congratulate President Obama on his inauguration, and I join the country in celebrating this American tradition.

The president and I were political opponents. We had strong disagreements over the direction of the country—as we still do now. But today, we put those disagreements aside. Today, we remember what we share in common.

We serve the same country, one that is still in need of repair—and is still the freest on earth. We serve alongside men and women from both parties, who govern in good faith and good will. Finally, we serve the same people, who have honored us with their charge.

We may disagree on matters of policy. But today we remember why we take those matters so seriously—because we seek the public good. It’s our highest duty—one that we share—and one for which we’re grateful.

I’m happy to mark this historic occasion—for the president and for the country. And I look forward to tackling the big challenges ahead.

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11:20 a.m. – A Look Back at Obama’s First Inaugural Address

ABC’s Elizabeth Hartfield reports:

As Obama’s prepares to give his second inaugural address, a look back at the first: Obama’s speech in 2009 ran 2,395 words.

According to a handy word count breakdown from the Wall Street Journal, Obama used the word “people” eight times, the word “God” five times, and the word “government” four times. We can expect that those words will pop up again in today’s speech, as the president is expected to talk about unity and finding common ground among our nation’s leaders.

A word he only uttered once in 2009, that we might expect him to bring up again more this time- “war” – as the president looks back on the drawdown of America’s military presence in Iraq, and ahead to the drawdown in Afghanistan.

Today’s speech is expected to be shorter than his speech four years ago – but by how much will remain to be seen. The high bar of second inauguration speeches is Abraham Lincoln’s address in 1965- where he managed to say a lot, in just a few words- 698 to be exact.

11:16 a.m. – Obama Enters Arena

President Obama has entered the Capitol. Vice President Joe Biden and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi are close behind.

ABC’s Michael Falcone points out President Obama will be getting down to business shortly after he delivers his second inaugural address, officially submitting the names of his nominees for the posts of CIA Director, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury, according to a White House official.

Today, at the Capitol the President will be signing:

1. A Proclamation to commemorate the inauguration titled, “National Day of Hope and Resolve, 2013.”
2. Four Nominations:
a. John Owen Brennan to be Director of the CIA
b. Charles Timothy Hagel to be Secretary of Defense
c. John Forbes Kerry to be Secretary of State
d. Jacob J. Lew to be Secretary of the Treasury

ABC’s Devin Dwyer notes that four years ago, Obama signed a similar proclamation and nominations to the Senate. This occurs in the President’s Room, just off the Senate chamber, immediately following the address.

11:15 a.m. –

11:08 a.m. – The Biden Family Bible

A large Bible being carried in is attracting some attention for its size. The Bible belongs to the Biden family, and it’s the one Vice President Joe Biden will use to swear his oath of office, as he did four years ago.

The 120-year-old book has a Celtic cross on the front and has been passed down through the Biden clan. It is 5 inches thick, according to the Presidential Inaugural Committee.

Biden also used it Sunday in his private swearing-in ceremony at the Naval Observatory.

Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo

11:04 a.m. – Powell Slams GOP’s ‘Idiot Presentations’

ABC’s Michael Falcone reports:

In an interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos during ABC’s special inauguration day coverage this morning, former Secretary of State Colin Powell lashed out at people in the Republican Party who spent the last four years spreading “birther nonsense” and other “things that demonize the president,” calling on GOP leaders to denounce such talk — publicly.

“Republicans have to stop buying into things that demonize the president. I mean, why aren’t Republican leaders shouting out about all this birther nonsense and all these other things? They should speak out. This is the kind of intolerance that I’ve been talking about where these idiot presentations continue to be made and you don’t see the senior leadership of the party say, ‘No, that’s wrong.’ In fact, sometimes by not speaking out, they’re encouraging it. And the base keeps buying the stuff.

“And it’s killing the base of the party. I mean, 26 percent favorability rating for the party right now. It ought to be telling them something. So, instead of attacking me or whoever speaks like I do, look in the mirror and realize, ‘How are we going to win the next election?”

Read more from Falcone here.

10:59 a.m. – Former President Carter Enters

Thirty-ninth President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, entered the Capitol to applause from the crowd. The former president shook hands and exchanged greetings with others awaiting President Obama. Carter is 88 years old and one of two former presidents expected at today’s ceremony.

The second, former President Bill Clinton, entered moments later with Sec. of State Hillary Clinton by his side.

10:56 a.m. – How to Crash a Party

Not invited to any of the official inaugural shindigs? No sweat.

ABC’s Chris Good got the scoop on how to sneak into the festivities from Fred Karger, former 2012 Republican presidential candidate and self-proclaimed party-crasher extraordinaire.

“Karger says he has crashed an inauguration party before, plus the Oscars and Fashion Week. He has fooled rope-line workers, he says, and even the Secret Service,” Good reports.

“He twice found himself onstage at the Oscars, he says, once singing the final number alongside Liza Minnelli.”

A few of Karger’s tips: call ahead under a fake name, blend in with the entourage and don’t look back. Find all of Karger’s tips and more reporting from Chris Good here.

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10:52 a.m. – Presidential Limo: Belly of the Beast

President Obama got an upgraded presidential limo when he took office four years ago.

Pierre Thomas got an exclusive look at the unveiling back then. Take a look:

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10:41 a.m. – POTUS Departs

(Image Credit: DC Vote)

President Obama has left the White House and entered his motorcade, on the way to the Capitol.

The president’s limo is sporting special plates today, in support of the D.C. statehood movement. Read more about those plates here.

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10:39 a.m. – First Lady and Vice President on Their Way

First lady Michelle Obama left the White House, followed shortly by Vice President Joe Biden.

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10:34 a.m. – Obamas Leave White House

President Obama’s daughters, Sasha and Malia, left the White House in their pink and purple coats just a moment ago. They’re headed for the Capitol, where they will watch their father take the presidential oath for the fourth time.

They were followed minutes later by a band of Marines, then by Dr. Jill Biden, Vice President Joe Biden’s wife.

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10:31 a.m. – Events Heating Up

Members of Congress can be seen streaming into the Capitol. The inaugural pre-show began at 9:30 a.m., but Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., won’t begin introducing the president for another hour.

Across the National Mall, attendees are waving American flags, in a sea of red, white and blue.

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10:17 a.m. – Presidential Imperfections

It’s a not-so-secret understanding that even the most well-respected president’s weren’t perfect. Turns out neither were their inaugural ceremonies.

Find the funniest and quirkiest inaugural slip ups here.

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9:58 a.m. – How Do You Spell the Event of the Day?

(Image Credit: Joanna Stern / ABC News)

ABC’s Joanna Stern reports:

Nope, it’s not inaugration. Not inaguration either. Inaugiration? Not correct. And it’s definitely not innoguration or anauguration.

Inauguration. That’s the correct spelling of the word for that big event today, at which, you know, the president officially becomes the president again.

But don’t be embarrassed if you spelled it incorrectly. It turns out it’s a pretty popular thing to do.

Over 2,500 people have tweeted about the “inaguration,” according to Topsy, which tracks tweets on Twitter. Topsy says 866 of those tweets have been in the last 30 days. “Inaugration” has been used in over 700 tweets.

Read more from Stern on the many misspellings of this historic event here.

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9:42 a.m. – Obamas on the Move

The Obama family has left church services at St. John’s Episcopal Church and headed back to the White House.

To see where the president will go next, check out ABC’s interactive map here.

Pastor Andy Stanley from the North Point Community Church in Alpharetta Georgia delivered the sermon, according to pool reports, calling the president “pastor in chief.”

This tweet from the president posted while the Obama family was still in church.

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9:15 a.m. – Obama’s View

ABC’s Jonathan Karl is on the platform at the West Front of the Capitol Building where Obama will give his inaugural address later today. He’s got the best view of the crowds, which won’t come close to the 1.8 million of four years ago, but which already number hundreds of thousands.

9:11 a.m. – Members of Congress Honor MLK on Twitter

Today America remembers the legacy of another great leader: Martin Luther King, Jr. Members of the House and Senate are taking to Twitter to express their admiration for King this morning.

9:04 a.m. – On the Ground with Good Morning America.

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9:03 a.m. – Best and Worst Inaugural Addresses

(Image Credit: Getty Images)

ABC’s Chris Good reports on the best and worst inaugural speeches of all time:

Inaugural addresses, it is said, are usually not very good. Most have been long forgotten, and historians themselves point to few as memorable.

It’s not entirely clear why, but the moment might have something to do with it. Book-ending divisive national campaigns, inaugural addresses offer token unity sentiments, hopefulness but not always specific hopes, and even some good ones sound myopic.

“Most inaugural addresses are not remembered,” said Princeton University professor and noted presidential historian Eric Foner. “Grover Cleveland? I have no idea what he said in his.”

“I have actually read every single inaugural, and it was a really boring experience,” said Robert Lehrman, a former speechwriter for vice president Al Gore, who now teaches the craft at American University in Washington. “Most of the speeches are terrible. Even the ones we remember, I don’t think there is any reporter working anywhere that couldn’t write language as crisp or concrete as the majority of them.”

Read the rest of the worst and the best here.

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8:56 a.m. – Outfits of the Inauguration: Obama Style

ABC’s Mary Bruce reports:

The President, First Lady, in a dark blue jacket, and daughters Malia, in a pink overcoat, and Sasha, in dark purple, arrived just after 8:40 a.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church for morning services.

The First Lady is wearing a navy Thom Browne coat and dress. The fabric was developed based on the style of a man’s silk tie. The belt she is wearing is from J.Crew and her earrings are designed by Cathy Waterman. She is also wearing J.Crew shoes. At the end of the Inaugural festivities, the outfit and accompanying accessories will go to the National Archives.

Malia Obama is wearing a J.Crew ensemble. Sasha Obama is wearing a Kate Spade coat and dress.

The Bidens arrived moments later.

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8:47 a.m. – Tailor to the Presidents: Republicans Dress Better

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8:45 a.m. – Great American Quotes

Inaugural addresses are an opportunity for presidents on the nation’s front lawn – a place that Americans come to in turns inaugurate their leaders, protest their government and mourn their dead – to place a marker for their legacy.

There have been some weighty and remarkable things said as presidents took the oath of office looking down on the Mall and also, from nearby, as other Americans have looked up and let their voices be heard at gatherings as varied as the March on Washington and the Promise Keepers.

What can Barack Obama say, come Monday, as he begins a second term with lower expectations and less inspiration, to place himself on this list of great American words?

Click below for an interactive look at the competition:

(Image Credit: ABC News: Ma'ayan Rosenzweig)

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8:38 a.m. – Aretha Franklin’s Hat Makes a Comeback

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8:22 a.m. – Martha Raddatz: Women Rule

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8:08 a.m. – Eva Longoria Wakes Up to with the White House

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Curated by ABC’s Z. Byron Wolf and Sarah Parnass

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