Barack Obama 44th President of the United States
President Bush, right, walks out with President Barack Obama, on the North Portico of the White House Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
By
Becky Ogann
Story Created:
Jan 20, 2009 at 8:37 AM CST
Story Updated:
Jan 20, 2009 at 5:28 PM CST
WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Hussein Obama is now the 44th president of the United States. Barack Obama steps into history today as America's first African-American president.
Joe Biden has been sworn in as the 47th vice president of the United States.
President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, watched the inaugural parade from a reviewing stand in front of the White House.
The Obamas first spent some time inside the White House, after a parade during which they twice left their car to walk the route, hand in hand, and wave to the crowd.
They then emerged from their new home - the new president holding the hand of his younger daughter, Sasha, and the new first lady walking with daughter Malia. The family was met with hugs from many of the VIPs gathered inside the reviewing stand.
Behind them came the first of the dozens of marching bands and other groups from around the country taking part in the parade.
The mood in Washington, D.C. this inauguration day has been warmly festive, but the chilly weather has been taking its toll.
Medical stations around the event handled 490 patients with 31 transported to hospitals. The main problems reported were falls, dehydration, hypothermia and chest pains.
Compounding the problem: Warming tents and other facilities on the Mall were late opening because traffic and crowds delayed staffers from reaching them.
Morning temperatures were in the low 20s with a light wind and overcast skies. But readings climbed to 28 by the time of the noon ceremony. Unfortunately, the wind picked up as well.
The cold didn't challenge the record of minus 2 degrees at Ronald Reagan's second inauguration in 1985.
The normal high for Jan. 20 in Washington is 42 degrees with a low of 26.
One of President Barack Obama's first acts is to order federal agencies to halt all pending regulations until his administration can review them.
The order went out Tuesday afternoon, shortly after Obama was inaugurated president, in a memorandum signed by new White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. The notice of the action was contained in the first press release sent out by Obama's White House, and it came from deputy press secretary Bill Burton.
The waning days of former President Bush's administration featured much debate over what rules and regulations he would seek to enact before he left office.
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