With the ushering in of America's 44th president, Barack Obama, “change” has been on everybody’s mind.  Change in policy, domestic and abroad, change in our lifestyles to reduce our carbon footprint… But as soon as I got to Washington D.C, it was obvious what kind of change was going on there…the kind that jingles and folds. I had my first vendor sighting in D.C only a few minutes after getting off the Chinatown bus from New York.  There was a mass of people in front of a metro station on 5th street. Read more...

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What I learned about the Red Carpet: Lessons from the Latino Inaugural Gala
When you were younger, I bet you used to dream of walking down the Red Carpet.  I know I did. Cameras flashing, people screaming and asking for autographs...It sounds glamorous, doesn’t it?
Last night I found out the Red Carpet is not quite how I had pictured it. Okay, maybe I did not get to experience walking down the Red Carpet, but I did get to stand directly behind the velvet rope and interview some of the stars attending the Latino Inaugural Gala with MTV News. Read more...

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Yesterday, I could not bring myself to sit down and watch the inauguration. It just did not seem that important to me.

My school took class time from 8:30 to 10:00 just to watch it that morning. I showed up late on purpose because I didn’t want to see it. All of my friends wanted to know why I didn’t come. They just figured that I stayed at home to watch it, but I told them I didn’t watch it period, and I told them why.
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As early as 7:00am, people began to trickle into the courtyard of L.A. LIVE to witness the Presidential Inauguration on the facility’s monumental screens. Everyone from families and coworkers to students and seniors rubbed shoulders awaiting the swearing in of President Barack Hussein Obama. Councilwoman Jan Perry hosted this public event free of charge.

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King Anyi Howell-- comedian and Youth Radio on-air personality-- spent the Inaugural Week in D.C. Workin' and playin', playin' and workin' around the clock. The gallery in the sidebar shows a slice of King Anyi's adventures in the happy chaos of a Washington Gone Wild.


Here's video of President Obama and his wife Michelle taken at the Southern Inauguration Ball:
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Some hopeful, others cautious, high school students from across country reflect on this Inaugural day. Here are the reactions and predictions of students from David Starr Jordan High School in Watts, Grady High School in Atlanta and Animo Film and Theater Arts Charter High School in south Los Angeles.

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Original Story follows the update.

In preparation for an early start to Inauguration Day, the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) put together an OPP: Obama Pajama Party. A dozen teens--ranging in age from 13 to 18--ate pizza, shot video, and participated in rounds of election and inauguration trivia.
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Correspondent Pendarvis Harshaw sends us this dispatch from Washington D.C.

Featuring words of wisdom from Prof. Cornell West.

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Youth Radio's Lauren Silverman reporting from amidst the inauguration crowds in Washington DC.

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Developing...

New photos from King Anyi in the sidebar.

Reports that Sen. Ted Kennedy suffered some kind of seizure during an official luncheon.

We're receiving reports from the Capitol Mall that the crowds are making it difficult to get around.

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