Jan. 20 Photo Brief: Obama and Biden sworn in for second term, botched assassination of Bulgarian politician, Dakar Rally winner, camels march
President Obama and Vice President Biden was sworn in for a second term on Sunday, the botched assassination of a Bulgarian politician, Dakar Rally winner, camels march during a rehearsal for the Indian Republic Day parade and more in today’s daily brief.
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- U.S President Barack Obama (L) takes the oath of office from U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts as first lady Michelle Obama holds the bible and their daughters Malia and Sasha (L-R) look on in the Blue Room of the White House in Washington, January 20, 2013. (Larry Downing/Reuters)
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- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (L) stands with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor after taking the oath of office during the official swearing-in ceremony at the Naval Observatory on January 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. Biden and U.S. President Barack Obama will be officially sworn in a day before the ceremonial inaugural swearing-in. (Kevin Lamarque-Pool/Getty Images)
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- A contingent of approximately 240 soldiers of the German Bundeswehr board a plane for Turkey on January 20, 2013 in Berlin, Germany. German is committing two units of Patriot anti-missile systems to help defend Turkey from possible attack from Syria. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
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- Climbers walk along the A82 next to Bidean Nam Bian on January 20,2012 in Glencoe, Scotland. Four climbers were killed yesterday following an avalanche on Bidean Nam Bian in Glencoe. A party of six, three men and three women were descending close to Church Door Buttress when the snow slope broke away. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
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- This photo taken on on January 18, 2013 shows the Pudong financial district in Shanghai. Several days of hazardous air quality across large swathes of northern China this week triggered an emergency response which saw schoolchildren kept indoors, factories closed and government cars parked. Experts are urging authorities to take firmer action to confront the consequences of China’s rapid industrialisation — and the spending habits of the middle classes created by its economic boom. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Padlocks (locks of love) are covered with snow on the Pont des Arts bridge on January 19, 2013 in Paris. (Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A firefighter attempts to extinguish a fire that engulfed a residential area in Manila on January 19, 2013. Almost 50 houses were destroyed leaving a hundred families homeless, according to local media reports. (Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images)
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- An Indian Border Security Force (BSF) camel contingent marches past Rajpath during a rehearsal for the Indian Republic Day parade in New Delhi on January 20, 2013. India will celebrate its 64th Republic Day on January 26 with a large military parade. (Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Japanese traditional wooden houses “Gassho zukuri”, are lit up in the snow-covered village of Shirakawa in Gifu prefecture, central Japan on January 19, 2013. The Gassho zukuri farmhouses were listed as one of the World Heritage by UNESCO in 1995, and the village will be illuminated until February 16. (JiJi Press/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A general view shows Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic during their men’s singles match on day seven of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 20, 2013. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A rebel Kachin Independence Army (KIA) 3rd Brigade soldier stands guard as they secure an area on Hka Ya mountain in Kachin province on January 20, 2013. Kachin ethnic minority rebels in war-torn northern Myanmar accused the military of launching a fresh attack on January 20, just days after a ceasefire pledge by the country’s reformist government. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Commuters ride on the roof of a train as they come back to the city after attending the final prayer of Biswa Ijtema in Dhaka January 20, 2013. Thousands of Muslims joined the Akheri Munajat, the final supplication as the second phase of the Muslims congregation concluded by seeking forgiveness and blessings for mankind on Sunday, local media reported. (Andrew Biraj/Reuters)
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- An unidentified man (R) attacks Ahmed Dogan, leader of Bulgaria’s Movement for Rights and Freedom (MRF) party, as he delivers his speech during his party’s annual conference at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia in this still image taken from video footage on January 19, 2013. Dogan was attacked by a man carrying a gun during his speech at the party conference in Sofia on Saturday. The attacker was later arrested and Dogan escaped unhurt. Video taken January 19, 2013. (BTV via Reuters)
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- Performers throw flour as they act in a play in Pingyao, Shanxi province, January 20, 2013. Shanxi people are famous for their passion and loyalty for food made of flour. The drama represents the history of a famous family-owned traditional banking institution in Shanxi. (Jon Woo/Reuters)
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- Devotees dance with images of Child Jesus in various outfits after a mass, during the annual Santo Nino (Child Jesus) Festival at a church in Manila January 20, 2013. (Cheryl Ravelo/Reuters)
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- France’s Cyril Despres celebrates after winning the fifth South American edition of the Dakar rally 2013 in Santiago, January 20, 2013. (Ivan Alvarado/Reuters)
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- A Free Syrian Army fighter member of Sadik unit aims his Draganov sniper rifle at Syrian Army soldiers in Ain Tarma neighbourhood of Damascus January 20, 2013. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)
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- Tajidddin Ahmed of Atlanta, who is attending tomorrow’s inauguration, wears a jacket filled with buttons in support of U.S. President Barack Obama as he stands on the National Mall in Washington January 20, 2013. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
Obama sworn in for second term in White House ceremony
Steve Holland and Jeff Mason | Reuters
12:34 p.m. EST, January 20, 2013
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama took the official oath for his second term on Sunday at the White House in a small, private ceremony that set a more subdued tone compared to the historic start of his presidency four years ago.
Gathered with his family in the Blue Room on the White House’s ceremonial main floor, Obama put his hand on a Bible and recited the 35-word oath that was read to him by U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts.
Obama hugged his wife Michelle and said, “Thank you,” after she congratulated him at the swearing-in.
Obama, who became the first African-American U.S. president four years ago, will be sworn in publicly for his second term on Monday in a much bigger ceremony before an audience of as many as 800,000 people outside the U.S. Capitol.
Sunday’s ceremony was needed because the U.S. Constitution mandates that the president take office on January 20. Planners opted to go with a private ceremony on the actual date and then hold the symbolic inaugural activities the next day.
Obama will have been sworn in four times, two for each term, putting him equal to Franklin Roosevelt, who served four terms. A second swearing-in was needed in 2009 when Roberts flubbed the first one.
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