Photos: Hollywood Stars Turn Out In Force To Support President Obama's Public Inauguration

It's not exactly the Red Carpet ceremony, but the President's second-term inauguration had an unmistakable Hollywood feel.
Beyonce and Jay-Z led the way as the stars turned out in force to support President Barack Obama at his inauguration on Monday.
A loud cheer welcomed the 31-year-old singer and her rapper husband as they made a grand entrance at the ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC.

Passionate performance: President Barack Obama puts his hand on his heart as he watches singer Beyonce Knowles belt out THe Star Spangled Banner following his second inauguration in Washington on Monday

Power couple: Jay-Z and Beyonce arrive at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC

Quite an entrance: The popular rapper and singer received a cheer from the crowd as they walked in

Congratulations Sir! Beyonce shares her joy as she holds hands with Obama

The pair both wore grey and had matching fur coats for the occasion and stopped to chat with Rev. Al Sharpton.

After watching Obama's second inauguration, Beyonce stepped onto the podium herself to belt out The Star Spangled Banner.
With huge emeralds glinting on her ears, and her finger, the beauty looked moved as she gave a passionate performance.
She had earlier shared snaps of her rehearsals on Instagram.

Belting it out! The singer performed the U.S. national anthem The Star Spangled Banner

Perfect choice: Beyonce looked emotional as she took to the podium, but showed no sign of nerves

Power women: Michelle Obama hugs Beyonce, who is wearing in Lorraine Schwartz 80 carat emerald earrings and a 50 carat emerald ring

OPne for the album: Showing that even superstars aren't immune to being starstruck, Beyonce and Jay Z ask a fellow guest to take a photo for them

Musicians Kelly Clarkson and James Taylor were present, both preparing to perform at the inaugural ceremony.

'I think it's going to be the coolest thing ever to look back with my grandkids and go: "I was a part of that and I'm proud of that. I'm not ashamed of that,"' Clarkson said in a recent interview.
Kelly once said she was a fan of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, but she says she voted for Obama twice.

Historic day: Kelly Clarkson arrives with Brandon Blackstock for the ceremonial swearing-in

Big moment: Clarkson performed My Country 'Tis of Thee after Obama took the oath of office

On the podium: Kelly performed My Country 'Tis Of Thee at Obama and Vice President Joe Biden's swearing in ceremony after Obama took the oath of office

Congrats! Kelly and Obama share a tender moment in front of the nation

Stirring: Former American Idol winner Kelly has her big moment in front of America

 

Kelly performed My Country 'Tis Of Thee at Obama and Vice President Joe Biden's swearing in ceremony after Obama took the oath of office.
UK viewers may have found the song familiar - it is set to the British national anthem God Save The Queen.
'We came up with a really cool arrangement for it and I really love the lyrics,' Kelly said.

A-list event: John Mayer and Katy Perry were also in the crowd

Touching moment: Katy rests her hand on John's head as the pair await the big moment

In their Monday best! Katy has been a long-term passionate supporter of the President

Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Mana, Usher and Brad Paisley will later take to the stage at the Commander-in-Chief's Ball.

Chris Cornell, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Hudson and Anthony will also perform.

Actress Eva Longoria was seated on the platform outside the Capitol, sharing a picture of her insiders view on Twitter.

The kiss that says You Did It! US President Barack Obama embraces First Lady Michelle Obama as they arrive

His biggest supporters: First Lady Michelle Obama and her daughters Sasha and Malia

Also seated in the crowd were long-term Obama supporter, the singer Katy Perry, wearing an orange coat, and her boyfriend John Mayer.

And former Boston Celtics great Bill Russell was in the crowd, too.

Celebrities have been a big part of Obama's strategy to attract voters. Bruce Springsteen is a regular supporter, as is Perry, Lena Dunham, Scarlett Johansson, Jay-Z and dozens of others.
While not all of Obama's star supporters could be present at the inauguratiuon, there were plenty of stirring tributes posted on Twitter.
Alicia Keys wrote: 'What a powerful day!! May we all take these powerful strides and continue moving forward!! Blessings!! '

Supporter: Eva Longoria flashed a big smile as she arrived for the event

IEva tweeted: 'Touching the center of the city here in the Capitol for good luck!'

High note: John Legend took his girlfriend Chrissy Teigen

Beyonce's singer sister Solange showed her support, writing: 'I couldn't be more proud on this day.'
Maria Shriver, estranged wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger and a Kennedy by birth, tweeted: 'Wow, Beyonce!
'Her work brought her here, as did Kelly Clarkson's. Hard work pays off. Greatest country on earth.'

Rehearsing: Beyonce posted this picture on her Instagram account ahead of President Barack Obama's inauguration

Serious business: The Obama supporter stayed focused ahead of her big performance

Singing her heart out: The 31-year-old will perform The Star Spangled Banner

Patriotic: The star in front of a statue of Abraham Lincoln

dailymail.co.uk

Buried Baby Dug Up Alive In Lagos

A baby was found buried alive in a shallow grave but luckily got rescued by good samaritans and is now receiving proper care.

The details are not yet clear but it was gathered that the baby boy whose photos you see below, was buried by yet to be identified person(s) but as fate would have it, some members of the community found him, alive! Now, that is a miracle! Who knows how long he had been in that cold soil before being rescued!

The incident reportedly happened in Lagos, Nigeria and we are yet to get more details.

See photos below...

 

THE BABY AFTER HE WAS CLEANED UP

Inauguration 2013: President Obama's Quiet Swearing-In Ceremony At White House (VIDEO)

 

 

 

 

Click below to watch video:

President Barack Obama has been sworn in to his second term in office.

During a quiet ceremony in the Blue Room of the White House, Obama took the official oath of office at approximately 11:55 a.m. Obama's family attended, along with several members of the media.

Upon completing the swearing in, Obama hugged his family members and said to his daughter, Sasha, "I did it."

The ceremony occurred because of a Constitutional requirement that the president begins his second term by noon on Jan. 20. Obama will be sworn in a second time on Monday, when he takes the oath of office in front of thousands of people at the U.S. Capitol.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office. Roberts will also administer the oath of office during Monday's Inauguration ceremonies.

Roberts famously flubbed the oath of office during the 2009 Inauguration, misspeaking while leading Obama without notes. The swearing-in ceremony was repeated "out of an abundance of caution" in the Map Room of the White House the following day.

After Obama swears in for the final time on Monday, he will have matched President Franklin Roosevelt's record of being sworn in as the nation's leader four times.

huffingtonpost

Evil Mistress Strangles Lover’s 4 Children

Chukwuebuka, (13), Chukwumelum (6) Obumneme (3) and 15-month-old Chinenyenwa

In what sounds like a movie tale, A woman in Obuno Umuochefu, Igbo-Ukwu in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra state has snuffed life out of four children of her boyfriend by strangling them. Not done with her bestial mission, the suspect sat back at the scene of the crime until her victims’ parents returned, and attacked their mother.

For Mr and Mrs Nwanneka Ogechukwu Okonkwo, both natives of Ekwulumili in Nnewi South Local Government Area but resident in Igbo-Ukwu, January 15, 2013, came like any other day. But the young couple who are each 28 years old, never knew that it was the day their four children, Chukwuebuka, (13), Chukwumelum (6) Obumneme (3) and 15-month-old Chinenyenwa would breathe their last.

The young couple had no premonition of the tragedy that shocked everybody in the community. Their three sons and a daughter were allegedly killed by a lady simply identified as Blessing, from Abakiliki in Ebonyi State. Narrating the tragic incident, the mother of the dead children who spoke with Sunday Sun at Ekwulumili Health Centre where she was recuperating from the shock, said that she was also attacked by the suspect. Mrs Okonkwo said that the eldest of her children, Chukwuebuka, was the first casualty.

According to her, the suspect allegedly hit him on his forehead with a hard object and dumped the lifeless body inside an underground tank in the compound before strangling his siblings one after the other. “I was to go for a burial ceremony with my husband at Ukpor on that fateful day and the children went to school. We initially left with the youngest one, Chinenyenwa but the vehicle we boarded was jam-packed with passengers and the baby started crying. Consequently, my husband said we should disembark and use our motorcycle but people around said the road was too dusty to ride with a baby on a bike.

I decided to go home and wait for our other children who went to school so that they would take care of the baby and enable my husband and I to make the trip with our motorcycle. “But long after school hours, the children didn’t come home. We went to the school and other pupils told us that our children had gone home. I looked for them along the roads they usually take to the house but I did not see them.

Thereafter, I urged my husband to go on his own and look for them, but he returned soon after, saying he had seen them coming home. Before my husband and I left for the burial, I gave them food and told them to go and stay with an old woman in the neighbourhood because we are the only occupants of that building, and I don’t like them staying alone in the compound. “We had stayed barely one hour at the burial ceremony when my husband said we should go home.

But before we left, my husband’s phone rang and I heard him say, ‘I’m in a burial’. So, as we got close to our home, his phone rang again and he told the caller that we were not back yet. I didn’t ask him who the caller was as we rode straight to the house.

“When we got to the elderly neighbour’s house, we were told that she had gone for prayers and that my children were not seen there. We got to the house and I opened the gate from behind believing that the children were inside the house. As we parked our motorcycle inside the compound, my husband pointed to the underground tank that was open. I became apprehensive because we don’t keep it open. But I said maybe the eldest might have drawn water from the well and had forgotten to close it.

I called Ebuka but there was no response. I ran into the sitting room and saw the three younger ones lying on the floor as if they were asleep. I ran out again believing that those three were sleeping. I continued to call Ebuka and looked into the tank and I didn’t see anything. “Later, I decided to wake up Ebuka’s immediate younger brother to ascertain the whereabouts of his brother. I called him but he didn’t wake up; I tried to rouse him but he was motionless and so were the other two. I cried to my husband that the children were dead and I concluded that since the three were dead, Ebuka might be inside the well.

There were marks of human nails on their necks that showed that they were strangled. One of them had faeces in his anus. “It was when my husband started crying and moved towards our bedroom, that the lady (suspect) emerged from the bedroom and asked him why he was shouting. Then, I advanced towards her and demanded from her, where she kept Ebuka’s body because I had seen the others she killed. I held her and she gripped me. When I freed myself from her grip, I rushed to lock one of the two gates and raised the alarm until neighbours came.

“Later, somebody rushed out and called the youths of the community before the local vigilante and policemen arrived. She was arrested along with my husband.” Sources told Sunday Sun that the timely arrival of the police and the local vigilante saved the suspect from being lynched. It was also gathered that Mr Okonkwo, a furniture maker, had been dating the suspect, a relationship his wife confirmed, and had been battling to stop.

When contacted, the couple’s landlord, Mr Sunday, who lives outside the community, described the alleged killing of the innocent children as unfortunate and declined further comment. The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Anambra State, Mr Emeka Chukwuemeka, confirmed the incident and said the matter was being handled by the State Criminal Investigation Department in Awka, the state capital.

 

sunnewsonline

50 Bodies Found Floating On Anambra River

 

Bodies floating on the Amansea River that empties into Anambra River from Agba Ogwudu River in Enugu State yesterday left the people of Amansea and their neighbours in Awka, the Anambra State capital shocked, as people from the communities went to fetch water from the river.

It was learnt that after counting up to 50 bodies, the bewildered villagers alerted their traditional ruler, Igwe Kenneth Okonkwo, who mobilized his cabinet for an emergency meeting after which the state government and the state police command were contacted.
The stench from the decomposing bodies could be picked from about one kilometre from the river and the development attracted many people to the area.

Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, who was away from the state on official assignment, was immediately contacted and he directed members of the state executive council to move to the spot with a view to finding out the true situation of things.

Most of the state commissioners and local government chairmen from some local government areas, as well as other top government officials, who were at the scene posed questions to the communities’ leaders to find out if anybody was missing in their areas. The indigenes so far said no one was missing in their communities.

The state commissioner for local government, Mrs Azuka Enemuo, who led the government delegation to the area, described the development as terrible.

“Since our arrival, we have counted about 14 dead bodies floating on this river and we may not have seen the last. We were duly informed by the security agencies and we believe they will carry out investigations to tell us actually what transpired.

“We have already contacted our neighbouring Enugu State government to find out if the bodies came from that state. The state government must get to the root of this matter,” Enemuo said.

Speaking on the incident, Igwe Kenneth Okonkwo said, apart from the mystery posed by the floating bodies, the worry of his people was that their main source of water supply may have been polluted.

He said the river is the only source of water for the five communities of Amansea, Ebenebe, Ugbenu, Ugbene and Oba-Ofemili and the development had caused a lot of discomfort to his people.

The Enugu State Police Commissioner, Mr Musa Daura, has assured the people of the communities affected and the state government that his command would probe the mystery surrounding the bodies, while he added when visiting the scene yesterday, that he would join hands with his Anambra State counterpart to investigate the source of the corpses.

According to him, the avalanche of dead bodies remained a mystery because he had not heard of any communal clash whether in Enugu or Anambra where many people were killed.

informationnigeria