With its fragile truce with Hamas in place, Israel is accelerating its troop withdrawal from Gaza, saying it wants to be done by Obama’s inauguration. The New York Times reports the death toll from the 23-day conflict has passed 1,300 as more decomposing bodies are uncovered in the territory, where Hamas is reasserting its control. A senior Israeli official tells the paper that Israel hopes to be out of Gaza by the time Obama becomes president, so he can concentrate on rebuilding the area and supporting the moderate Palestinian leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is due in Gaza Tuesday to work on hammering out a more durable peace agreement.

Recession, be damned! ABC News reports the US government and deep-pocketed donors are spending $170 million on Obama’s inauguration. While the swearing-in ceremony will cost a mere $1.24 million, security and all those parties and Port-a-Potties are the really big-ticket items. A Presidential Inaugural Committee spokeswoman, for example, estimates the overall party bill at $45 million—$2.7 million more than Bush’s 2005 bash budget. The federal government is picking up $49 million, and Washington and neighboring states have asked for a reported $75 million. Donors are picking up the rest of the tab, among them Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates, both of whom gave the maximum $50,000.

How’s this for a shift? Bush, at noon Tuesday, will go from most powerful man in the world to simple Texas rancher. He’ll still get taxpayer-funded motorcades for the next 10 years, but there’ll be no more Air Force One. On his last morning as president, he’lll welcome the Obamas and Bidens to the White House for coffee; then, around 11 a.m., the Bushes and Obamas will ride together to the Capitol for the inauguration ceremony. After Obama’s big address, the Obamas will accompany the Bushes to the east steps of the Capitol for the outgoing leader’s final ride on Marine One, which he’ll take to Andrews Air Force Base for a departure ceremony with staff. Finally it’s on to Crawford on the plane formerly known as Air Force One, with a stop first in his hometown, Midland, for a welcome home event.

It looks like Dick Cheney will have to be wheeled out of office: He pulled a back muscle moving his things out of the Naval Observatory. The injury will leave him wheelchair-bound for the next few days, which means he’ll attend Obama’s inauguration on wheels. “Under his physician’s recommendation, the vice president will be in a wheelchair for the next couple of days, including for tomorrow’s inauguration,” Dana Perino said, in what could possibly be her last statement as White House press secretary. “The Vice President is looking forward to being there for tomorrow’s historic inaugural activities,” she added.

In a deal Russia and Ukraine say will make gas cutoffs to European customers a thing of the past, the two countries have signed a 10-year agreement to restore the flow of Russian gas to Europe. The signing brought no joy to the European Union, however, which depends on Russia for 20 percent of its natural gas. It testily called for a delivery timetable after a two-week standoff between Russia and Ukraine over how much the latter should pay for the gas that flows from Russia. The crisis couldn’t have come for a worse time for the two Eastern European neighbors, both of which are showing “fresh signs of buckling under the strain of the financial crisis,” The Wall Street Journal reports.

Could this be more exciting than the inauguration itself? The Obama girls fulfilled every tween’s fantasy on Monday night, joining the Jonas Brothers on stage at the first-ever Inaugural Kids Concert for a little celebratory dancing. Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7—attending with their mom; Jill Biden and her grandkids; and hundreds of screaming fans—also met a slew of other stars. Politico reports Malia played it cool when it came time to meet Corbin Bleu of High School Musical, though Michelle “played like the fawning fan, shaking his hand like a star-struck teen.” Jill Biden later took to the stage with her grandchildren, telling the crowd: “Military families are true American heroes. Thank you all for what you do for our country every day.”

Oops! Joe Biden is known as a gaffe machine, but it appears the foible runs in the family. Jill Biden, at a taping of Oprah with her husband today, said the vice president-elect was given his pick of plum roles in the Obama administration: vice president or secretary of state. “Joe had the choice of being secretary of state or vice president,” she said, to audible shushing from Joe. “I said, ‘Joe, if you are secretary of state, you will be away, I’ll never see you. We will see you at a state dinner once in a while.' But I said if you are vice president, the entire family, because they worked so hard for the election, they can be involved.” Over to you, Hillary.

In the first of several possible midnight pardons, Bush commuted the sentences of two U.S. Border Patrol agents jailed for shooting and killing an unarmed Mexican drug smuggler in the back, overcoming the three to one odds Politico laid on the case. With a mere 24 hours of Bush White House to go, the folks at Politico have handicapped prominent pardons that the erstwhile president might issue. Still on the list: pardons for CIA interrogators, Alberto Gonzales, Scooter Libby, Bradley Schlozman (who was investigated for using political considerations to hire at the DOJ) and lobbyists and security personnel who passed secrets to Israel. Additional candidates for commutation include pre-Blagojevich Illinois governor George Ryan, Israeli Spy Jonathan Pollard, and tax-evader Randall "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif). Politico gives the best odds—one to one and one to two, respectively—to Gonzales and Libby. The worst odds—50 to one—go to Randall "Duke" Cunningham for his $2.4 million bribery scheme.

While many in Washington today are celebrating Obama’s imminent inauguration, some are sparing a thought for the outgoing administration. Protesters in the city’s Dupont Circle this afternoon took a page from Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi’s playbook and hurled their shoes at Bush—though it wasn’t the man himself, this time, but a 20-foot-high Bush-shaped balloon with a Pinocchio-like proboscis. Passers-by were also encouraged to throw their footwear.

As if Obama didn’t have enough to do, what with the inauguration and fixing the Great Recession and bringing peace to the world, a group of movers and shakers is giving him a reading list. The book recommendations for the president-elect, up on the Washington Monthly’s website, come from The Daily Beast’s own Reza Aslan ( The Ayatollah Begs to Differ, by Hooman Majd); Andrew Bacevich (Niebuhr’s Irony of American History); Steve Coll ( The Invisible Cure: Africa, the West, and the Fight Against AIDS, by Helen Epstein); and Rachel Maddow ( The Edge of Disaster, by Stephen Flynn), among many others. The most offbeat pick comes from The Washington Post’s David Ignatius: Graham Greene’s The Quiet American.

The economy’s loss is the recruiter’s gain. Last year, according to the New York Times, all active-duty and reserve branches of the military met or exceeded their recruitment goals for the first time since 2004, thanks to a dwindling economy that’s made steady paychecks had to come by. In November, the Army recruited 5,605 soldiers, 6 percent over its goal, and the Army reserve signed 3,270 people, 16 percent above its goal. But the gain is about more than the economy. The decline of violence in Iraq and the new GI bill, which will expand education benefits, are also driving recruitment. Starting in August, service members who spend at least three years on active duty will be able to attend public colleges on the government dime or apply the same amount toward private tuition.

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."

For months, New York Gov. David Paterson has claimed he's undecided about whom to appoint to Hillary Clinton's Senate seat. But according to the New York Post, several unnamed contenders for the seat believe that Caroline Kennedy's nomination is a done deal. Any assertion to the contrary is Paterson "trying to play mind games with the press," a friend of the governor said. Why pick Caroline in the wake of all the negative press she's received? Apparently, to pass Kennedy over could embarrass and humiliate her, and possibly offend Obama. One candidate said, "David goes with Caroline with the understanding that Caroline, and her family and its resources, go with David next year." Meanwhile, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the public's favorite, is reportedly out of the running because he couldn't line up the right kind of replacement.

Has The New York Times found its savior? Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helú is near a deal to invest $250 million in the Times. The board will meet today to approve the deal, though sources warned that it could still collapse. Mr. Slim already owns 6.4 percent of the Times. Under the new deal, he would invest $250 million "in the form of 10-year notes with warrants that are convertible into common shares." Mr. Slim will not get representation on the company's board, or special voting rights, but if he exercises the warrants, he will own about one-third of the company's stock—more than the Sulzberger family's 19 percent. Slim, who controls cellular and landline telephone companies, is estimated to be worth $60 billion.

How valuable of an ally will John McCain be to Barack Obama? According to The New York Times, "Over the last three months, Mr. Obama has quietly consulted Mr. McCain about many of the new administration's potential nominees to top national security jobs and about other issues" in a courtship "that historians say has few modern parallels." Lindsey Graham has said of McCain that "that many of these appointments he would have made himself." When McCain returned from Iraq last month, Obama called him in order to hear his thoughts on the situation. And, tonight, McCain will be the guest of honor at a black tie celebration of Obama's inauguration.

In the weeks since he wrenched off his shoes and chucked them at President Bush during a Baghdad press conference, Iraqi correspondent Muntadhar al-Zeidi, 30, has been cooling his boots in an undisclosed, highly secure location, where he's alleged to have been tortured. It's no surprise, then, that he wouldn't mind a change of scenery, perhaps to somewhere more hospitable, like Switzerland. Zeidi's Geneva-based lawyer, Mauro Poggia, today told the Associated Press that his client seeks asylum in the Alpine nation because staying in Iraq—or any Muslim nation—would endanger his life. Although many on the Muslim street hailed Zeidi as a hero, Poggia offers an impressively counterintuitive explanation about Zeidi's peril: "People who support his action could try to make him a martyr." The question of Zeidi's potential relocation is, for the moment, moot, as he remains in custody on charges of assaulting a foreign leader; a trial date has been postponed.

Playing Johnny Cash wasn't enough--now Joaquin Phoenix wants his own musical career... as a hip-hop artist. In his first career move since "retiring" from the film business, the once-exalted actor debuted his rap tracks at a Las Vegas club this weekend. The results? Not pretty. Looking more than a bit unkempt, he stumbled around the stage, even tripping into the crowd at one point. "This is me saying this is who I am. This is my story," he told People.com. "After all the years of reading scripts and reading lines, this is my chance to do something straight from the heart and put it out there." Casey Affleck, Joaquin's brother-in-law, reportedly filmed the graceful performance for an upcoming documentary about his new profession.

Barack Obama isn’t the only one preparing for a big day tomorrow. Elizabeth Alexander, the inaugural poet, is gearing up to recite an original poem in front of the global audience. Alexander, a Yale professor, says she will be invoking the legacies of Walt Whitman and Gwendolyn Brooks, and that she hopes to reach a new audience through her poetry. “I don’t think of poetry as being quite so didactic, of telling people in that way,” she said. “I think of it as more of an offering, and there is a call and response in that. And part of it is that I’ll have an audience that is so large and dispersed that I won’t even know it—most of the people who will be watching will be watching it on TV—but that call and response will be implicit.”

Following his usual tactic of co-opting his rivals, Barack Obama has invited the only person as popular as he is to this week's celebrations. The hero of the Hudson, US Airways Captain Chesley Sullenberger III, will be in attendance at the inauguration after receiving a personal request from the president-elect to come to Washington for the festivities, according to the mayor of Sullenberger's hometown of Danville, California. The aviator became an instant star on Thursday after he successfully landed a passenger plane in the Hudson River despite losing both engines, saving the lives of everyone on board. According to the pilot's wife, Lorrie, her teenage daughters are especially excited to join him in Washington, D.C. "Our daughters would love to go see the Jonas Brothers," she said in a CBS interview.

Tom Colicchio has long been known as the heroically skeptical judge on Top Chef. But last night, at an inaugural party thrown by Washington, D.C., chef Joan Nathan, he was an actual hero, saving the host’s life. Ezra Klein reports from the swank gathering that included chefs Dan Barber, Daniel Boulud, and Lydia Bastianich. Colicchio was being hounded by fans who were furious one of their favorites had been chucked off Top Chef. The next thing you know, Nathan, the author of J ewish Cooking in America, had a piece of chicken stuck in her windpipe. Colicchio flew into action and the hostess was saved. “Versatile guy,” cracks Klein. “Think he’d be willing to manage the stimulus package?”

First the good news–if you live in Ithaca, breathe easy! The frigid college town is one of just five metropolitan areas expected to avoid a net loss of jobs in 2009, according to a forecast commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The rest of the country is not in such good shape, however, with New York City expected to lead losses in 2009 with a projected decline in its finance-heavy workforce of 181,000. In Los Angeles, where the foreclosure crisis is hitting residents hard, some 164,000 jobs are projected to disappear. In certain major cities, like Cleveland and Detroit, unemployment could top 10 percent.

We've barely finished up with the 2008 election, but already Obama's presence is felt in the 2010 contests, where his victory is not lost on other young, black politicians. Several African American politicians have either announced or are considering statewide bids for office, reflecting a newfound confidence in their chances to win over a mostly white electorate. Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL) recently declared he will run for the retiring Sen. Mel Martinez's seat, for example, while in Alabama, Rep. Artur Davis is gearing up for a pass at the governorship. Other young African American politicians are considering Senate and gubernatorial runs in states like Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio.

The economic downturn punched France's high-end restaurants in the gut: fewer people can afford $450-per-head meals. However, a number of French chefs are dealing with that deflated soufflé by opening fast-food joints, The Telegraph reports. Paul Bocuse, the "pope" of French cuisine added a fast food chain that offers entire meals for $15 as well as ham sandwiches and burgers for under $10. Guy Martin, a Michelin starred chef who runs the Grand Vefour in Paris, opened a snack food counter and Helene Darroze, a two-star Michelin Chef, is now offering a low-cost tapas lunch.

For the Packer family, it's the end of an era: For the last 21 years, either James Packer or his father, media tycoon Kerry Packer, have topped the list of Australia's richest, but last year James came in third. Thanks to the financial crisis, James Packer's $6 billion fortune has dwindled to less than $3 billion, driving him to tone down his lifestyle. Packer put his $50 million yacht—a model that is world's largest and requires a two-year wait—up for sale, delayed delivery of a $60 million private jet, and stopped construction on a $3.7 million swimming pool and pavilion on one of his properties. He's also sold his stake in the family cattle company for $425 million, and divested himself from his father's media interests. Apparently, the depressed and now overweight billionaire hasn't been seen in public for some time and will be focusing on building his global casino empire.

Journalist Hanna Rosin received a letter yesterday from her daughter's school: "An announcement that Shakira—the hottie Colombian pop star—is singing in school on Monday. My daughter does not go to Sidwell Friends or GDS or one of the private schools Sasha and Malia were looking at. She goes to our local public school." Rosin believes that an age-old Washington-Hollywood line has been crossed. In normal times, "[celebrities] come here to be boring, and we pretend they're not famous. … Now that dynamic is out of whack, and everyone's fawning all over everyone." As evidence, she enlists the guest list of tonight's Huffington Post party, which includes Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Jon Bon Jovi, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Marisa Tomei, Demi Moore, and Ashton Kutcher. She goes on to worry that celebrities "will be visiting a lot more often now that we have the Ur-Celebrity in the White House."

Few words have leaked yet about last night's biggest event: The Root Ball at The Smithsonian Museum of American History. Rumors circulated before the party, hosted by theroot.com, that Barack and Michelle Obama would show up. But according to Obama Foodorama, that seems not to have been the case: "they weren't at the event when we were, and we're guessing not, because security seemed light." Oh well. We guess Oprah Winfrey, Eric Holder, Diane von Furstenberg, Spike Lee, and Samuel L. Jackson will have to suffice. Dinner at the ball was Hawaiian, in honor of the president-elect, but also included a spread from Ben's Chili Bowl, a D.C. institution.

Barack Obama's inauguration as the country's first African American president falls, fittingly, the day after Martin Luther King Day. King's son, Martin Luther King III, pens an op-ed in today's Washington Post, congratulating Mr. Obama but insisting that "We must all embrace this dream as our civic responsibility." Although Obama's election "carries us further down the path toward equality, Barack Obama's election does not render my father's dream realized." Jesse Jackson, meanwhile, strikes a similar chord in The New York Times, saying that "I can say without reservation that [King] would be beaming. I am equally confident that he would not let the euphoria of the moment blind us to the unfinished business that lies ahead."  To mark the occasion, Obama has called for a day of community service around the country and will perform volunteer work himself along with Joe Biden, though their specific project won't be unveiled until later in the day.

Jeremiah Wright may be a persona non grata at inauguration, but that didn't stop Obama's controversial former pastor from showing up in Washington yesterday. In a sermon at Howard University, Wright had kind words for the president-elect. "He was able to do what nobody of African descent was ever able to do in the 211-year history of this country. ... The Lord stepped into his story and gave him a new attitude." After the sermon, Wright ripped into ABC News. "It was so unfair to my family and ended up hurting my daughter and it was unconscionable," he said. "ABC started a mess that was unconscionable." Wright insisted in the interview with ABC that he was proud of Obama. "He was in my ministry for 20 years. We're the only ... black church in the nation to produce a president." He noted, however, that he will not be attending inauguration and will instead be teaching a class at the Virginia Union School of Technology.

Is there a silver lining to the Madoff fiasco? The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is reporting a sudden rush of crooked investment managers turning themselves in as Ponzi schemers. The phenomenon is being caused by investors who, spooked by Bernie Madoff's $50 billion dollar fraud, are now challenging their own fund managers on similar patterns of high returns. And apparently, some of their suspicions are correct. "They're throwing themselves at the mercy of the CFTC court," said the organization's acting director of the would-be Madoffs. 

As Gaza remained quiet Monday, Israel continued withdrawing its troops from the Palestinian territory, with plans to complete the withdrawal by Tuesday. More than 1,300 Palestinians are reported dead, plus 13 Israelis, though those numbers are expected to grow as more information emerges during the cease-fire.

If they weren’t already the envy of every pre-teen girl, Malia and Sasha Obama will be when they are serenaded by the Jonas Brothers at the Disney Channel Kids’ Inaugural event tonight. “We know that Sasha and Malia are fans of ‘Burnin’ Up,’ which is probably what we’ll be playing,” the band’s front-man Nick Jonas said at a news conference. The event, which will be hosted by Michelle Obama, will honor military families. Miley Cyrus is also slated to perform.

Israel has begun withdrawing troops and tanks from Gaza after its 22-day operation that killed at least 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis. So what exactly did the country gain? According to The New York Times, it's still unclear. "Have three weeks of overpowering war by Israel here weakened Hamas as Israel had hoped, or simply caused acute human suffering?" Hamas is certainly not destroyed, having shied, for the most part, from the fight. Israel, however, did succeed in at least putting pressure on Hamas, which hopes to continue ruling Gaza and therefore had to measure its response. And there are "limited indications that the people of Gaza felt such pain from this war that they will seek to rein in Hamas." One Palestinian woman said, "I will never vote for Hamas. They are not able to protect the people, and if they are going to bring this on us, why should they be in power?"