• Washington prepares for inauguration with dress rehearsal

    Mike Theiler / Reuters

    U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Michael Linnington, center, commander of the Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region (JFHQ-NCR), is flanked by actors portraying President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, as they arrive to review troops during a dress rehearsal for the inaugural parade at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan.13. The official inauguration and swearing-in will take place Jan. 21.

    Mike Theiler / Reuters

    Members of the military band perform during the dress rehearsal.

    WASHINGTON — With his wife and two daughters at his side, President Barack Obama will raise his right hand and place his left on two stacked Bibles as he takes the oath of office for another four-year term. His second inauguration promises the pageantry of the firs, but on a smaller scale than 2009, when a record 1.8 million people filled the nation's capital to witness Obama making history as America's first black president.

    -- By Jennifer C. Kerr, The Associated Press

    Read the full story: Questions and answers about upcoming inauguration

    Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

    A technician tests microphones on the stage.

    View more videos at: http://nbcwashington.com.

  • Exit Sarkozy, enter Hollande: Socialist sworn in as French president

    Laurent Cipriani / AP

    French President Francois Hollande waves from his car as he drives down the Champs Elysees in Paris after his inauguration on May 15, 2012.

    Christophe Ena / AFP - Getty Images

    French President-elect Francois Hollande arrives for his inauguration on May, 15, 2012 at the Elysee Palace in Paris.

    Reuters reports — Francois Hollande became French president on Tuesday in an official handover ceremony that makes him the country's first Socialist leader since Francois Mitterrand.

    Outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy greeted Hollande on the steps of the Elysee presidential palace, and took him inside to transfer nuclear codes and other secret files ahead of a short swearing-in ceremony attended by around 400 guests.

    Hollande was due to fly to Berlin later in the day for his first meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

    'Monsieur Normal' takes office ... unmarried

    French economy stalls, posing challenge for new president

    Follow @msnbc_pictures

    Fred Dufour / AFP - Getty Images

    Hollande is awarded "Grand Maitre" in the Order of the Legion of Honor, from chancellor of France's National Order of the Legion of Honor, General Jean-Louis Georgelin.

    Mehdi Fedouach / AFP - Getty Images

    Hollande, right, walks on the red carpet towards his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy prior to the start of the investiture ceremony.

    Lionel Bonaventure / AFP - Getty Images

    Sarkozy, left, welcomes his successor Hollande upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace.

    Jacques Brinon / AP

    Hollande's partner Valerie Trierweiler, right, shakes hands with Sarkozy's wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy before the presidential handover ceremony.

    Jacky Naegelen / Reuters

    Journalists work as a man sweeps the red carpet in the courtyard of the Elysee Palace.

    Patrick Kovarik / AFP - Getty Images

    Sarkozy and his wife leave the Elysee Palace after the formal investiture ceremony.

    Reuters

    Hollande stands up in his car as he rides in the rain up the Champs Elysees.

    The current First Lady of France, Valerie Trierweiler, and the former, Carla Bruni, have captivated the world. NBC's Jim Maceda reports.

     

     

  • Protests can't stop Putin from returning to power

    Vladimir Rodionov / Pool via AFP - Getty Images

    Russia's president-elect Vladimir Putin walks down Andreyevsky (St.Andrew's ) Hall of the Great Kremlin Palace in Moscow May 7, as he arrives to take his oath of office and become Russia's president for a historic third mandate at a glittering ceremony inside the Kremlin.

    Natalia Kolesnikova / AFP - Getty Images

    Russian people march along a street during an opposition's protest rally in Moscow on May 6. Russian riot police violently clashed with protesters at a rally on the eve of Vladimir Putin's return for a third Kremlin term, arresting over 400 people including opposition leaders.

    Alexander Zemlianichenko / Pool via AP

    Russian President Vladimir Putin and former President Dmitry Medvedev, right, during the inauguration ceremony at the Cathedral Square in the Kremlin in Moscow, May 7. Vladimir Putin took the oath, saying he considers "service to the fatherland and our nation to be the meaning of my life."

    Andrey Smirnov / AFP -Getty Images

    Russian Police officers detain opposition supporters during a rally in Moscow on May 6.

    By msnbc.com staff and news services: MOSCOW --  Vladimir Putin was sworn in as Russia's president at a glittering ceremony on Monday, hours after clashes between police and thousands of protesters in the country's capital laid bare the deep divisions over his return to the Kremlin for six more years. 

    In the latest demonstrations on Sunday, police detained more than 400 people, including three opposition leaders, after tensions boiled over at a rally attended by about 20,000 people across the Moscow river from the Kremlin. 

    Putin, a former KGB spy, took his oath before nearly 2,000 guests in the Kremlin's St Andrew Hall, the former throne room with sparkling chandeliers, gilded pillars and high Gothic vaults, before being blessed by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church and taking charge of the nuclear suitcase.  Full story.

  • Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal inaugurated for second term

    By Rich Shulman

    Tim Mueller / AP

    Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's children, from left, Slade, Selia and Shaan walk the steps to the podium Jan. 9, 2012 during Jindal's Inaugural ceremony at the Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge, La.

    I think the Jindal children stole the show at their father's inauguration.

    Nola.com reports: The two-day swirl of events surrounding Gov. Bobby Jindal's inauguration to a second term got off to a solemn start Sunday when two dozen religious leaders from various faiths prayed for the governor, all other elected officials and the future of Louisiana.

    Tim Mueller / AP

    From left, Selia, Shaan and Slade Jindal peer into a canister presented to their father, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, right, during inaugural ceremonies Monday, Jan. 9, 2012 in Baton Rouge, La. Jindal and his wife, Supriya Jindal, center, were given the canister after the nineteen cannon salute and the posting of the colors by the Louisana Army National Guard.

     

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