As Barack Obama prepares to deliver the first speech of his historic presidency, details about the themes he'll touch on are beginning to trickle out. He'll emphasize public confidence in the face of economic upheaval, and a new "culture of responsibility," according to incoming chief-of-staff Rahm Emanuel. Incoming press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama had written the speech himself last weekend, and that the bulk of it was now completed. He'll talk about the fact that "we need more responsibility and accountability, certainly, in the way our government acts," said Gibbs. But specific wording was being kept tightly under wraps. Perhaps ironically, the themes are similar to those that outgoing President George W. Bush made the cornerstone of his own Inaugural speech when he ushered in a new "responsibility era."

Hamas agreed to a one-week cease-fire pledge on Sunday but the Israeli military has no plans to leave the Gaza Strip. "We can't talk about a timetable for withdrawal until we know the cease-fire is holding," a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert explained. "If there is a danger Hamas is going to deliberately torpedo the cease-fire, and we will have to reinitiate offensive actions against Hamas, for that reason we have to be reticent about withdrawing our forces." The spokesperson, added: "If the cease-fire holds, we can start a process of moving out." Meanwhile on Sunday, Palestinian militants kept firing rockets into southern Israel, vowing to continue the 22-day conflict.

The crowds are in place for the Obama inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial. While the concert begins at 2 p.m., it won’t be on television until 7 p.m., on HBO, which is broadcasting over an open signal for the show. For those who want an audio preview of what’s being billed as the inauguration’s “opening celebration,” it’ll be broadcast live on NPR. Performers include Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Sheryl Crow, Herbie Hancock, Usher, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, and Stevie Wonder, among many others. On tap for Martin Luther King Jr. Day tomorrow: a Kids’ Inaugural concert to honor military families, which is being shown live on the Disney Channel.

Investigators recovered the data and cockpit voice recorders from US Airways Flight 1549, which made an emergency landing in the Hudson River on Thursday. Early Sunday morning, the plane was pulled from the river and placed on a barge. More details have been released about the jet's descent after it was struck by birds, disabling its engines. The cabin went silent like a library, an NTSB official said, after the engines failed. The last communication from the cockpit to the tower was: "We can't do it. We're gonna end up in the Hudson."

Clint Eastwood’s reign atop the box office was a short one. His Gran Torino dropped to second place with $22.2 million this weekend, edged out by comedian Kevin James’ low-budget Paul Blart: Mall Cop, which follows the travails of a New Jersey mall security guard. James’ first effort anchoring a feature film took in $33.8 million, stunning analysts. Two other new entries, horror flick My Bloody Valentine 3D and rap biopic Notorious, opened at third and fourth places, earning $21.9 million and $21.5 million, respectively. Meanwhile, Oscar hopeful Slumdog Millionaire got a big boost from all its Golden Globe wins, surging 56 percent to take in $5.9 million and land at No. 10. Made for $15 million, the film has taken in $42.7 million so far.

Marine General Jim Jones will be charged with one of the most difficult tasks in the new administration, serving as Obama’s national security adviser amid two wars, the constant threat of terrorism, and unstable situations in Israel, Pakistan, and Iran. Newsweek’s Tammy Haddad caught up with Jones for a candid webvideo interview and he told her the 2008 election results brought home “the fact that there is a need for a United States that sets a high moral example and values that people care about.” He added that he would not likely be a frequent guest for interviewers, given the nature of his new job: “I kind of have the sense that the national security adviser is supposed to be kind of the man behind the scenes, so I’ll try to be invisible for a while.”

Barack Obama’s defining moment may come as soon as his first weeks in office, as he moves to pass an unprecedented $825 billion stimulus plan. According to a CNN poll, he’ll have one crucial ally by his side in this fight—the American public. Some 58 percent of Americans polled support increased government spending to try to stave off a Depression, and Obama’s decision to include tax cuts in the plan—to the ire of some on the left—boosts the legislation’s appeal even further. A whopping 71 percent back the plan when tax cuts are in the mix. “Barack Obama’s plan to reach out to Republican members of Congress with a tax-cut component to his stimulus package seems to be working with the GOP rank and file,” CNN polling director Keating Holland said.

Barack Obama's outreach to conservatives, like his dinner with columnists George Will, David Brooks, and Charles Krauthammer, and now an event celebrating John McCain, has been met largely with praise and according to Ariana Huffington its emblematic of one of his defining features. "I think it's a great idea that he's reaching out to John McCain, to conservatives, to liberals," she said in an interview with Newsweek. "That's really what is unique about him, because he can maintain who he is while reaching out to diverse views and opinions. Thats going to change the way we do business."

As the country prepares to politely show President Bush out the door Tuesday, preparations are under way for a highly ambitious and active post-presidency. In addition to hitting the lecture circuit and writing his memoirs, the plan includes creating a new think tank dedicated to expanding democracy and advancing education reforms in the mold of No Child Left Behind. "This is not going to be a 'George Bush Is a Wonderful Person Center,' or 'The Center for Republican Party Campaign Tactics,'" Bush said in an interview recently. "It's going to be a place of debate, thought, writing, lecturing." Bush's plan to create a policy center is similar to past presidents, historians say, most notably Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon -- two leaders often compared to the current president for a variety of less flattering reasons.

Will The New York Times find a financial savior in Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim? The Wall Street Journal reports the troubled newspaper outlet is in discussions with Slim for an investment "similar to a loan" that would give him preferred stock, "which carries no voting right but pays an annual dividend." Slim is reportedly willing to put up "several hundred million dollars." Though neither the company nor Slim would comment, the Times board has a special meeting planned for this week. Time may be running out. "The Times Co. has about $46 million in cash and $1.1 billion in debt as of the end of September," according to the Journal. "It has a $400 million credit facility that expires in May, $250 million in notes due in 2010 and another $400 million credit facility due in 2011."

It may be lacking in the stars department this year (see: Inauguration fever), but at least the Sundance Film Festival has seen a film sale. Last night Senator Distribution picked up North American rights to Brooklyn’s Finest, a cop drama directed by Antoine Fuqua, for less than $5 million. Senator plans to release the film, which stars Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke, and Don Cheadle, in the fourth quarter of 2009 for awards consideration, Variety reports. “We went into aggressive pursuit right after Friday’s screening,” Senator president Mark Urman told the paper. Apparently, the film is still a work in progress and will be getting a new ending.

The FDA has advised Americans to "postpone" consuming specific products containing peanut butter until the source of a salmonella outbreak has been confirmed. So far, 474 people have been sickened and six have died. "While snack products are potentially contaminated, supermarket peanut butter is not," USA Today reports. "It appears that the only peanut butter linked to the outbreak was an institutional brand sold in five- to 50-pound tubs to schools, hospitals and nursing homes under the King Nut and Parnell's Pride label."

President-elect Barack Obama will take office on Tuesday with the broad support of the American people, according to a fresh NYT/CBS poll. Despite overall pessimism (80% acknowledging the economy is worse off compared to five years ago), 79% are optimistic about Obama's first term (including 58% of McCain supporters), a higher level than for the past five new presidents. In fact, 61% think the economy will improve in five years, up from 39% in April. Obama's 60% approval rating is now at its highest ever, with 70% of respondents approving of his Cabinet picks.

Russia and Ukraine's staring contest over a new natural gas agreement was threatening to take the EU with it, as the pipeline carrying much of the continent's gas runs through the Ukraine, but the two sides finally struck a deal on Sunday. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said gas would start flowing again as soon as their state-controlled companies signed a new contract. Under the agreement, Ukraine will keep paying its low price on gas, but will accept higher prices in exchange for higher fees for use of its pipeline in 2010.

When the ordinary is extraordinary. Bruce Springsteen was so inspired by his new local supermarket, he penned an ode to a check-out girl. "I remember walking through the aisles—I hadn't been in one in a while—and I thought his place is spectacular," he told The Guardian. "This place is... it's a fantasy land! And then I started to get into it. I started looking around and hmmm—the subtext in here is so heavy! It's like, 'Do people really want to shop in this store or do they just want to screw on the floor?'" Or perhaps just a human touch.

It's one of the ironies of Depression 2.0 that right as the economy needs all the consumer spending it can get, the people who can afford it suddenly grow a conscience about their shopping bonanzas at Nordstrom's. Take tennis superstar Serena Williams, who is normally clad in the latest from Paris and dripping with jewels, but now is proudly touting $12 bags from American Apparel at the Australian Open. "I don't know if it's because it's everywhere in the media, the financial crisis, but it's low tide for me. I'm not out there buying crazy things," Williams said. She did add that the new toned-down Serena might not last forever, so maybe there's hope for a Williams-based stimulus package after all.

President-elect Barack Obama and his family arrived with the Bidens at Washington, D.C.'s Union Station last night after a 6 1/2-hour train journey that mimicked that made by Abraham Lincoln in 1861. Along the 137-mile trip, the specially commissioned Amtrak train made three stops—Philadelphia, Wilmington, Del., and Baltimore—where Obama delivered speeches from the last car to throngs of supporters. "We are here today not simply to pay tribute to our first patriots but to take up the work that they began," he said. "We have been touched by your grace, and we will fight for you every single day that we are in Washington." The Washington Post reported that "typically so serene," Obama "was visibly affected by the receptions he received" and "beamed in Wilmington as more than 7,000 joined in a chorus to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Michelle Obama, who turned 45 Saturday."