Te'o Tells Couric He Briefly Lied About Girlfriend

Manti Te'o briefly lied to the media and the public after discovering his online girlfriend did not exist and was a part of an elaborate hoax, he admitted in an exclusive interview with ABC News' Katie Couric.

The star Notre Dame linebacker, who has been hounded by the reporters since the story broke Jan. 16, told Couric in a taped interview Tuesday that he was not lying up until December. Te'o said he was duped into believing his online girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, died of cancer.

"You stuck to the script. And you knew that something was amiss, Manti," Couric said.

Te'o found out that Kekua was a hoax on Dec. 6, but on Dec. 8 he again publicly mentioned his girlfriend. The remark came as Te'o was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, the award for the best college football player in the country. Te'o was eventually a runner-up for the trophy.

"Katie, put yourself in my situation. I, my whole world told me that she died on Sept. 12. Everybody knew that. This girl, who I committed myself to, died on Sept. 12," Te'o said.

"Now I get a phone call on Dec. 6, saying that she's alive and then I'm going be put on national TV two days later. And to ask me about the same question. You know, what would you do?" Te'o said.

Man Allegedly Behind the Manti Te?o Dead Girlfriend Hoax Watch Video

See more exclusive previews tonight on "World News With Diane Sawyer" and "Nightline." Watch Katie Couric's interview with Manti Te'o and his parents Thursday. Check your local listings or click here for online station finder.

Te'o, 21, was joined by his parents, Brian and Ottilia, in the interview.

"Now many people writing about this are calling your son a liar. They are saying he manipulated the truth, really for personal gain," Couric said to Te'o's father.

"People can speculate about what they think he is. I've known him 21 years of his life. And he's not a liar. He's a kid," Brian Te'o said with tears in his eyes.

Click here for a who's who in the Manti Te'o case.

Diane O'Meara told NBC's "Today" show Tuesday that she was used as the "face" of the Twitter account of Manti Te'o's online girlfriend without her knowledge or consent.

O'Meara said that Ronaiah Tuiasosopo used pictures of her without her knowledge in creating Kekua.

"I've never met Manti Te'o in my entire life. I've never spoke with him. I've never exchanged words with him," O'Meara said Tuesday.

The 23-year-old marketing executive went to high school in California with Tuiasosopo, but she says they're not close. Tuiasosopo called to apologize the day Deadspin.com broke the hoax story, she said.

Timeline of Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax story

In an interview with ESPN last week, Te'o said he had received a Twitter message from Tuiasosopo apologizing for the hoax.

The Hawaiian also spoke to Tuiasosopo on the phone the day the Deadspin report came out, according to ESPN.com. He found out that "two guys and a girl are responsible for the whole thing," he said.

But he did not know the identities of the other individuals involved, other than the man he says was Tuiasosopo.

Tuiasosopo, a 22-year-old resident of California, has not admitted involvement publicly. Tuiasosopo graduated from Paraclete High School in Lancaster, Calif., in 2007 and has posted dozens of videos online signing Christian songs.

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Defterios: What keeps Davos relevant

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Since the late 20th Century, the ski resort of Davos has been synonymous with the World Economic Forum


• Defterios: I first came to Davos as a relatively junior correspondent, two months after the Berlin Wall fell


• Fall of Communism, China's opening, removal of apartheid in South Africa unfolded in the 90s
  
  


• It's the inter-play between geo-politics and business is what keeps the forum relevant

Davos (CNN) -- Veterans of Davos often refer to nature's awe-inspiring work as the Magic Mountain.

The name comes from an early 20th century novel by Thomas Mann -- reflecting on life in an alpine health retreat, and the mystery of time in this breath-taking setting.

Read more from John Defterios: Why Egypt's transition is so painful

Since the late 20th century, this ski resort has been synonymous with the World Economic Forum, which represents networking on its grandest scale.

This year nearly 40 world leaders -- a record for this annual meeting -- 2000 plus executives and it seems an equal number of people in the media, like yours truly, are in pursuit of them all. The setting is certainly more chaotic then a decade ago. The agendas of the Fortune 500 chief executives are to filled with bi-lateral meetings and back door briefings to allow for the spontaneity that made this venue unique.

Davos gets ready for leaders' gathering

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I first came to Davos as a relatively junior correspondent in 1990, two months after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was arguably then, after nearly two decades in the conference business, when the forum became a fixture on the global calendar.

Quest: U.S. economy to dominate Davos 2013

I can remember, quite vividly, working out of a bunker (like we do today) in the Davos Congress Centre. West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl sat side-by-side with his East German counterpart Hans Modrow. That meeting before the global community helped set the stage for monetary union, a huge unification fund for what became Eastern Germany and shortly thereafter German elections.

The early 90s at Davos were dominated by European reconstruction after the fall of communism. Former party bosses came to the forum to convince business leaders that a transition to market economics could be delivered. Boris Yeltsin made his Davos appearance during that chaotic transition from the USSR to today's Russia.

Davos 2013: New year, same old problems?

In 1992, Chinese Premier Li Peng used the setting here in the Alps to articulate plans for the country's economic opening up to the world. Not by chance, the architect of Washington's engagement with Beijing, the former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger also took a high profile that year.

Again only two years later in 1994, Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres walked hand in hand on stage, holding a public dialogue leading up to the creation and recognition of the Palestinian Authority.

The World Economic Forum, as the saying goes, was positioned to be in the right place at the right time. While the author of the Magic Mountain talked about the complexity of time around World War I, in the 1990s time was compressed here.

The fall of communism, the lowering of global trade barriers, the opening up of China, the removal of apartheid in South Africa and the proliferation of the internet all unfolded in that decade.

Interactive: How's your economic mood?

As those events came together, so too did the major players as they made the journey to Davos. Michael Bloomberg, evolving as a global name in financial data and now the Mayor of New York City, sat alongside Microsoft CEO Bill Gates. U.S. President Bill Clinton outlined his party's historic move to the political center before a packed audience of global business executives.

To spice things up, rock stars and actors, as they became activists, chose the Davos platform: Bono, Richard Gere, Sharon Stone, Brad and Angelina would have the wealthiest and most powerful corporate titans freeze in their tracks.

Earlier this week, I walked into the main plenary hall as workers put the final touches on the stage and lighting. It is a venue which has welcomed countless political leaders and business executives, during internet booms and banking busts, in the midst of a Middle East crisis and even during the lead up to two Gulf Wars.

But that inter-play between geo-politics and business -- during the best and worst of times -- is what keeps the forum relevant. It allows this setting at the base of the Magic Mountain to endure and recreate something unique during what Mann rightly described as the ongoing complexity of our times.

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SGX's Q2 net profit rises 17% to S$76m

SINGAPORE : Rising interest in derivatives trading helped lift earnings for the Singapore Exchange (SGX) last quarter.

Asia's second-largest bourse operator reported a 17 per cent on-year rise in second-quarter net profit to S$76 million.

It also attracted a large number of new bond listings in the same quarter.

Derivatives trading has been the star performer in SGX.

Over the October to December quarter, derivatives daily average volume on SGX hit a record of 358,532 contracts, up 30 per cent on-year.

This was supported by rising trading interests in China A50 futures and Japan Nikkei 225 options.

Not to be undone, the securities market performed well too.

Its daily average volume rose 8 per cent for the quarter to hit a trading value of S$1.2 billion.

This translates to a revenue of S$58 million for the securities business segment.

SGX said the better performance was due to improvements in investor sentiment following stability over the Europe debt situation and improved US economy.

Magnus Bocker, chief executive officer of Singapore Exchange, said: "We should remember the enormous amount of liquidity in the market. Not so much in the equity market, but actually more in the fixed income and currency markets, and with chasing yields and lot of very successful and growing companies, I think we can all expect this sentiment to continue. I think we can expect more flows into securities."

Some analysts are bullish on SGX's prospects going forward.

The said the improved investment climate globally may benefit the exchange operator.

Ken Ang, investment analyst at Phillip Securities Research, said: "SGX is very well placed to benefit from this increasing attractiveness of the equity market and therefore resulting in increase in trading value."

SGX attracted eight new listings in its second quarter - raising S$798.9 million.

While the number seems small, it came amid declines in the global initial public offering (IPO) market.

In 2012, global IPO volumes fell 27 per cent, with the lowest level of funds raised since 2009.

Kenneth Ng, head of Singapore research at CIMB Research, said: "I think while that (derivative) is great and that diversified the revenue of SGX, SGX still has a rather pertinent problem of trying to increase the security turnover velocity and value by retail initiatives, attracting listings and so forth."

Apart from seeking more IPOs, SGX also attracted some 90 new bond listings, raising S$39.7 billion for the quarter.

- CNA/ms

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Vegas officer kills wife, son and himself

When a SWAT team arrived at the lieutenant's home, they found him waiting outside with what was believed to be a gun.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The officer called 911 to say he had killed his wife and son


• His home was burning when the SWAT team arrived


• After the fire was put out officers found three bodies in the home


• Survey: Last year, 126 police officer killed themselves

(CNN) -- Even for stone-faced, seen-it-all-before officers, the act that took place at a police lieutenant's Las Vegas-area home Monday was deeply distressing.

The 52-year-old lawman, police said, killed his wife and child, called 911 to say he was burning his house down and warned he would take the life of anyone who tried to stop him.

Then he waited.

When a SWAT team arrived at the lieutenant's Boulder City home, they found him outside with what looked like a handgun.

Officers asked him to drop the weapon -- commands the lieutenant must have screamed many times before in his 20-year career. He ignored them and ducked back into the blazing home.

It was then, police believe, that he killed himself.

Once firefighters put out the blaze that tore through the home, they found his body, his 46-year-old wife's, and their elementary-school-aged son's.

CNN is withholding their names because the coroner's office has not finished notifying family members.

The lieutenant worked for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, where he supervised patrol officers, CNN affiliate KVVU reported.

The station had interviewed him before about other crimes.

The wife worked for some time as a Las Vegas police officer, the Las Vegas Review-Journal said.

She won a community service award and a lifesaving award before leaving the department in 2005.

"Anyone involved with law enforcement for any amount of time is usually prepared for any scenario, but nobody can prepare for something like this," Las Vegas Metro Sheriff Doug Gillespie told reporters.

Last year, 126 police officers killed themselves, according to the National Study of Police Suicides by the nonprofit The Badge of Life.

It's a steep drop from the other two years the survey was conducted: 143 in 2009 and 141 in 2008.

Yet, it's cause for concern.

"In spite of this encouraging news, the fact is that police suicides continue at a rate much higher than the number of police officers killed by felons," the group said.

Folks who knew the lieutenant in Monday's incident were also trying to make sense of it. The soul-searching was agonizing for some.

Retired Las Vegas lieutenant Randy Sutton told KVVU he had worked alongside the lieutenant for years.

"There's no rhyme or reason," Sutton said, saying the lieutenant was hard-working and seemed well-adjusted.

This is "the most unconscionable, dishonorable thing to do I can ever imagine," he added.

"The memories I have of him, they mean nothing to me anymore."

Read more about this story from CNN affiliate KVVU.

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U.K. grandma gets death sentence in Bali

BALI An Indonesian court sentenced a British grandmother to death on Tuesday for smuggling cocaine worth $2.5 million in her suitcase onto the resort island of Bali — even though prosecutors had sought only a 15-year sentence.

Lindsay June Sandiford, 56, wept when judges handed down the sentence and declined to speak to reporters on her way back to prison, covering her face with a floral scarf. She had claimed in court that she was forced into taking the drugs into the country by a gang that was threatening to hurt her children.

Indonesia, like many Asian countries, is very strict on drug crimes, and most of the more than 40 foreigners on its death row were convicted of drug charges.

Sandiford's lawyer said she would appeal. Appeals take several years, and the country has not carried out an execution since 2008, when 10 people were put to death.

A verdict is expected in the trial of Sandiford's alleged accomplice, British man Julian Anthony Pounder, on Wednesday. He is accused of receiving the drugs in Bali, which has a busy bar and nightclub scene where party drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy are bought and sold between foreigners. Two other British citizens and an Indian have already been convicted and sentenced to prison in connection with the bust.

In its verdict, a judge panel at the Denpasar District Court concluded that Sandiford had damaged the image of Bali as a tourism destination and weakened the government's drug prevention program.

"We found no reason to lighten her sentence," said Amser Simanjuntak, who headed the judicial panel.

Prosecutors had been seeking a 15-year prison sentence for Sandiford, who was arrested in May when customs officers at Bali's airport discovered 8.4 pounds of cocaine in the lining of her luggage.

State prosecutor Lie Putra Setiawan told reporters that the verdict was "appropriate," explaining that prosecutors had been demanding 15 years because of Sandiford's age.

Indonesia has 114 prisoners on death row, according to a March 2012 study by Australia's Lowy Institute for International Policy. Five foreigners have been executed since 1998, all for drug crimes, according to the institute.

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Group Finds More Fake Ingredients in Popular Foods

It's what we expect as shoppers—what's in the food will be displayed on the label.

But a new scientific examination by the non-profit food fraud detectives the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP), discovered rising numbers of fake ingredients in products from olive oil to spices to fruit juice.

"Food products are not always what they purport to be," Markus Lipp, senior director for Food Standards for the independent lab in Maryland, told ABC News.

In a new database to be released Wednesday, and obtained exclusively by ABC News today, USP warns consumers, the FDA and manufacturers that the amount of food fraud they found is up by 60 percent this year.

USP, a scientific nonprofit that according to their website "sets standards for the identity, strength, quality, and purity of medicines, food ingredients, and dietary supplements manufactured, distributed and consumed worldwide" first released the Food Fraud Database in April 2012.

The organization examined more than 1,300 published studies and media reports from 1980-2010. The update to the database includes nearly 800 new records, nearly all published in 2011 and 2012.

Among the most popular targets for unscrupulous food suppliers? Pomegranate juice, which is often diluted with grape or pear juice.

"Pomegranate juice is a high-value ingredient and a high-priced ingredient, and adulteration appears to be widespread," Lipp said. "It can be adulterated with other food juices…additional sugar, or just water and sugar."

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Lipp added that there have also been reports of completely "synthetic pomegranate juice" that didn't contain any traces of the real juice.

USP tells ABC News that liquids and ground foods in general are the easiest to tamper with:

• Olive oil: often diluted with cheaper oils


• Lemon juice: cheapened with water and sugar


• Tea: diluted with fillers like lawn grass or fern leaves


• Spices: like paprika or saffron adulterated with dangerous food colorings that mimic the colors

Milk, honey, coffee and syrup are also listed by the USP as being highly adulterated products.

Also high on the list: seafood. The number one fake being escolar, an oily fish that can cause stomach problems, being mislabeled as white tuna or albacore, frequently found on sushi menus.

National Consumers League did its own testing on lemon juice just this past year and found four different products labeled 100 percent lemon juice were far from pure.

"One had 10 percent lemon juice, it said it had 100 percent, another had 15 percent lemon juice, another...had 25 percent, and the last one had 35 percent lemon juice," Sally Greenberg, Executive Director for the National Consumers League said. "And they were all labeled 100 percent lemon juice."

Greenberg explains there are indications to help consumers pick the faux from the food.

"In a bottle of olive oil if there's a dark bottle, does it have the date that it was harvested?" she said. While other products, such as honey or lemon juice, are more difficult to discern, if the price is "too good to be true" it probably is.

"$5.50, that's pretty cheap for extra virgin olive oil," Greenberg said. "And something that should raise some eyebrows for consumers."

Many of the products USP found to be adulterated are those that would be more expensive or research intensive in its production.
"Pomegranate juice is expensive because there is little juice in a pomegranate," Lipp said.

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How Obama made opportunity real

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• LZ Granderson: Specifics of Obama's first term may not be remembered


• He says his ability to win presidency twice is unforgettable


• Granderson: Obama, the first black president, makes opportunity real for many


• He says it makes presidency a possibility for people of all backgrounds

Editor's note: LZ Granderson, who writes a weekly column for CNN.com, was named journalist of the year by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association and is a 2011 Online Journalism Award finalist for commentary. He is a senior writer and columnist for ESPN the Magazine and ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter: @locs_n_laughs.

(CNN) -- In his first term, President Barack Obama signed 654 bills into law, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by about 70% and the national debt by $5.8 trillion.

And in 10 years -- maybe less -- few outside of the Beltway will remember any of that. That's not to suggest those details are not important. But even if all of his actions are forgotten, Obama's legacy as the first black president will endure.

And even though this is his second term and fewer people are expected to travel to Washington this time to witness the inauguration, know that this moment is not any less important.

For had Obama not been re-elected, his barrier-breaking election in 2008 could have easily been characterized as a charismatic politician capturing lightning in a bottle. But by becoming the first president since Dwight Eisenhower to win at least 51% of the vote twice, Obama proved his administration was successful.

And not by chance, but by change.

A change, to paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr., that was not inevitable but a result of our collective and continuous struggle to be that shining city on a hill of which President Ronald Reagan spoke so often.

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For much of this country's history, being a white male was a legal prerequisite to being president. Then it was accepted as a cultural norm. Because of that, we could not be the country we set out to be.

But today, somewhere in the Midwest, there is a little Asian-American girl with the crazy idea she could be president one day, and because of Obama, she knows that idea is not very crazy at all.

That's power -- the kind of power that can fade urgent numbers and debates of the day into the background of history.

Gergen: Obama 2.0 version is smarter, tougher

Few remember the number of steps Neil Armstrong took when he landed on the moon, but they remember he was the first human being who stepped on the moon. Few can tell you how many hits Jackie Robinson had in his first Major League Baseball game, but they know he broke baseball's color barrier. Paying homage to a person being first at something significant does not diminish his or her other accomplishments. It adds texture to the arc of their story.

I understand the desire not to talk about race as a way of looking progressive.

But progress isn't pretending to be color blind, it's not being blinded by the person's color.

Or gender.

Or religion.

Or sexual orientation.

Somewhere in the South, there is an openly gay high schooler who loves student government and wants to be president someday. And because of Obama, he knows if he does run, he won't have to hide.

That does not represent a shift in demographics, but a shift in thought inspired by a new reality. A reality in which the president who follows Obama could be a white woman from Arkansas by way of Illinois; a Cuban-American from Florida; or a tough white guy from Jersey. Or someone from an entirely different background. We don't know. Four years is a long time away, and no one knows how any of this will play out -- which I think is a good thing.

For a long time, we've conceived of America as the land of opportunity. Eight years ago, when it came to the presidency, that notion was rhetoric. Four years ago, it became a once in a lifetime moment. Today, it is simply a fact of life.

Ten years from now, we may not remember what the unemployment rate was when Obama was sworn in a second time, but we'll never forget how he forever changed the limits of possibility for generations to come.

Somewhere out West, there is an 80-year-old black woman who never thought she'd see the day when a black man would be elected president. Somehow I doubt Obama's second inauguration is less important to her.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of LZ Granderson.

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Flacco leads Ravens past Pats for Super Bowl bid

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. Joe Flacco outdueled Tom Brady, throwing three touchdown passes in the second half and leading the Baltimore Ravens to their first Super Bowl in 12 years with a 28-13 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday for the AFC championship.

Jim Harbaugh, left, and John Harbaugh

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Getty Images

The win sets up the first Super Bowl coached by brothers, Baltimore's John Harbaugh and San Francisco's Jim. The 49ers won the NFC title earlier Sunday 28-24 at Atlanta.

The 49ers have been listed as 5-point favorites.

Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis' final season will conclude in two weeks in New Orleans; he was the MVP of the 2001 game, the Ravens' only Super Bowl win.

Flacco had two touchdown passes to Anquan Boldin and one to Dennis Pitta as the Ravens outscored the Patriots 21-0 in the second half. Baltimore's defense made Brady look ordinary and stymied the league's top offense. Brady was 67-0 at home when leading at halftime.

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Flacco's three touchdown passes came in just over 10 minutes in the second half. He connected with Bolden for two TDs in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter — a 3-yarder and an 11-yarder — after hitting Pitta with a 5-yard strike with 6:14 left in the third.

The Ravens (13-6) gained just 130 yards in the first half before Flacco guided them on scoring drives of 87 and 63 yards.

New England (13-5) suffered three injuries in the first half. Cornerback Aqib Talib hurt his thigh and defensive tackle Kyle Love injured his knee. The return of both starters was questionable. Backup safety Patrick Chung was helped off the field after one play.

The Patriots played without tight end Rob Gronkowski, who broke his left arm a week earlier in their 41-28 divisional win over the Houston Texans.

Stephen Gostkowski had given the Patriots a 3-0 lead with a 31-yard field goal with 6:21 left in the first quarter. But the Ravens went ahead on Ray Rice's 2-yard touchdown run with 9:28 to go in the second.

Wes Welker then scored with just over 4 minutes remaining in the half on a 1-yard pass from Brady and the Patriots increased their lead on Gostkowski's 25-yard field goal on the final play before intermission.

New England outgained Baltimore 214 yards to 130 in the half. Brady completed 14 of 24 passes for 139 yards, while Flacco went 6 for 12 for 81 yards. Neither team committed a turnover.

The scoring pass to Bolden ended a drive on which Flacco completed five of six passes, the longest a 23-yarder to Torrey Smith.

The touchdown by Pitta capped the Ravens' best drive of the game, covering 87 yards in 10 plays. It started with a 15-yard defensive pass interference penalty. Then, Flacco completed six of his other nine passes on the series. Three of them went for first downs — 22 yards to Pitta, 15 to Rice and 12 to Bolden that gave the Ravens a first-and-goal at the Patriots 10-yard line.

Flacco then connected with Pitta for a 5-yard pass and finished the drive with another 5-yarder to Pitta, who easily beat single coverage by safety Steve Gregory.

The Patriots began the scoring on Gostkowski's kick, ending a 13-play, 67-yard drive during which Brady completed five of seven passes for 55 yards.

Rice's touchdown ended a 13-play, 90-yard drive that lasted 5:51. Flacco threw completions for first downs of 17 yards to Pitta, 11 yards to Rice, 8 yards to Bernard Pierce and 25 yards to Smith. With a first down at the Patriots 15-yard line, Rice ran for 8 and 5 yards, giving the Ravens a first down at the 2.

After Flacco threw an incompletion out of bounds, Rice took a handoff, ran to the left and scored easily.

Welker's touchdown came 4:18 before intermission and capped an 11-play, 79-yard drive. He scored on a pass to the right as cornerbacks Corey Graham and Chykie Brown appeared to get crossed up on their assignments.

On the first play of the series, Baltimore's Dannell Ellerbe was penalized 15 yards for a blow to the head. Then a 24-yard completion from Brady to Welker gave the Patriots a first down at the Ravens 16-yard line.

Both teams punted on their first possession before the Patriots began their scoring drive at their 21-yard line after a 50-yard punt by Sam Koch.

The Patriots began the series with Brady's 8-yard completion to Brandon Lloyd. The pair teamed up for three completions, gaining 37 yards, on the drive.

The Ravens punted on their first three possessions in the first quarter. The Patriots punted on three of their four series, forcing Baltimore to start deep in its territory.

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LIVE UPDATES: President Obama's Big Day

Four years and one day after President Obama first took his first oath of office, America is once again celebrating his Inauguration. This time the schedule includes performances by Beyonce and Katy Perry, a parade with more than 2,000 members of the military and two Inaugural balls.

Refresh here for updates throughout the day.

Tune in to the ABC News.com Live page on Monday morning starting at 9:30 a.m. EST for all-day live streaming video coverage of Inauguration 2013: Barack Obama. Live coverage will also be available on the ABC News iPad App and mobile devices.

Read Obama’s first Inaugural address here.

All times are in Eastern Standard Time.

10:56 a.m. – How to Crash a Party

Not invited to any of the official inaugural shindigs? No sweat.

ABC’s Chris Good got the scoop on how to sneak into the festivities from Fred Karger, former 2012 Republican presidential candidate and self-proclaimed party-crasher extraordinaire.

“Karger says he has crashed an inauguration party before, plus the Oscars and Fashion Week. He has fooled rope-line workers, he says, and even the Secret Service,” Good reports.

“He twice found himself onstage at the Oscars, he says, once singing the final number alongside Liza Minnelli.”

A few of Karger’s tips: call ahead under a fake name, blend in with the entourage and don’t look back. Find all of Karger’s tips and more reporting from Chris Good here.

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10:52 a.m. – Presidential Limo: Belly of the Beast

President Obama got an upgraded presidential limo when he took office four years ago.

Pierre Thomas got an exclusive look at the unveiling back then. Take a look:

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10:41 a.m. – POTUS Departs

(Image Credit: DC Vote)

President Obama has left the White House and entered his motorcade, on the way to the Capitol.

The president’s limo is sporting special plates today, in support of the D.C. statehood movement. Read more about those plates here.

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10:39 a.m. – First Lady and Vice President on Their Way

First lady Michelle Obama left the White House, followed shortly by Vice President Joe Biden.

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10:34 a.m. – Obamas Leave White House

President Obama’s daughters, Sasha and Malia, left the White House in their pink and purple coats just a moment ago. They’re headed for the Capitol, where they will watch their father take the presidential oath for the fourth time.

They were followed minutes later by a band of Marines, then by Dr. Jill Biden, Vice President Joe Biden’s wife.

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10:31 a.m. – Events Heating Up

Members of Congress can be seen streaming into the Capitol. The inaugural pre-show began at 9:30 a.m., but Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., won’t begin introducing the president for another hour.

Across the National Mall, attendees are waving American flags, in a sea of red, white and blue.

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10:17 a.m. – Presidential Imperfections

It’s a not-so-secret understanding that even the most well-respected president’s weren’t perfect. Turns out neither were their inaugural ceremonies.

Find the funniest and quirkiest inaugural slip ups here.

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9:58 a.m. – How Do You Spell the Event of the Day?

(Image Credit: Joanna Stern / ABC News)

ABC’s Joanna Stern reports:

Nope, it’s not inaugration. Not inaguration either. Inaugiration? Not correct. And it’s definitely not innoguration or anauguration.

Inauguration. That’s the correct spelling of the word for that big event today, at which, you know, the president officially becomes the president again.

But don’t be embarrassed if you spelled it incorrectly. It turns out it’s a pretty popular thing to do.

Over 2,500 people have tweeted about the “inaguration,” according to Topsy, which tracks tweets on Twitter. Topsy says 866 of those tweets have been in the last 30 days. “Inaugration” has been used in over 700 tweets.

Read more from Stern on the many misspellings of this historic event here.

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9:42 a.m. – Obamas on the Move

The Obama family has left church services at St. John’s Episcopal Church and headed back to the White House.

To see where the president will go next, check out ABC’s interactive map here.

Pastor Andy Stanley from the North Point Community Church in Alpharetta Georgia delivered the sermon, according to pool reports, calling the president “pastor in chief.”

This tweet from the president posted while the Obama family was still in church.

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9:15 a.m. – Obama’s View

ABC’s Jonathan Karl is on the platform at the West Front of the Capitol Building where Obama will give his inaugural address later today. He’s got the best view of the crowds, which won’t come close to the 1.8 million of four years ago, but which already number hundreds of thousands.

9:11 a.m. – Members of Congress Honor MLK on Twitter

Today America remembers the legacy of another great leader: Martin Luther King, Jr. Members of the House and Senate are taking to Twitter to express their admiration for King this morning.

9:04 a.m. – On the Ground with Good Morning America.

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9:03 a.m. – Best and Worst Inaugural Addresses

(Image Credit: Getty Images)

ABC’s Chris Good reports on the best and worst inaugural speeches of all time:

Inaugural addresses, it is said, are usually not very good. Most have been long forgotten, and historians themselves point to few as memorable.

It’s not entirely clear why, but the moment might have something to do with it. Book-ending divisive national campaigns, inaugural addresses offer token unity sentiments, hopefulness but not always specific hopes, and even some good ones sound myopic.

“Most inaugural addresses are not remembered,” said Princeton University professor and noted presidential historian Eric Foner. “Grover Cleveland? I have no idea what he said in his.”

“I have actually read every single inaugural, and it was a really boring experience,” said Robert Lehrman, a former speechwriter for vice president Al Gore, who now teaches the craft at American University in Washington. “Most of the speeches are terrible. Even the ones we remember, I don’t think there is any reporter working anywhere that couldn’t write language as crisp or concrete as the majority of them.”

Read the rest of the worst and the best here.

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8:56 a.m. – Outfits of the Inauguration: Obama Style

ABC’s Mary Bruce reports:

The President, First Lady, in a dark blue jacket, and daughters Malia, in a pink overcoat, and Sasha, in dark purple, arrived just after 8:40 a.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church for morning services.

The First Lady is wearing a navy Thom Browne coat and dress. The fabric was developed based on the style of a man’s silk tie. The belt she is wearing is from J.Crew and her earrings are designed by Cathy Waterman. She is also wearing J.Crew shoes. At the end of the Inaugural festivities, the outfit and accompanying accessories will go to the National Archives.

Malia Obama is wearing a J.Crew ensemble. Sasha Obama is wearing a Kate Spade coat and dress.

The Bidens arrived moments later.

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8:47 a.m. – Tailor to the Presidents: Republicans Dress Better

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8:45 a.m. – Great American Quotes

Inaugural addresses are an opportunity for presidents on the nation’s front lawn – a place that Americans come to in turns inaugurate their leaders, protest their government and mourn their dead – to place a marker for their legacy.

There have been some weighty and remarkable things said as presidents took the oath of office looking down on the Mall and also, from nearby, as other Americans have looked up and let their voices be heard at gatherings as varied as the March on Washington and the Promise Keepers.

What can Barack Obama say, come Monday, as he begins a second term with lower expectations and less inspiration, to place himself on this list of great American words?

Click below for an interactive look at the competition:

(Image Credit: ABC News: Ma'ayan Rosenzweig)

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8:38 a.m. – Aretha Franklin’s Hat Makes a Comeback

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8:22 a.m. – Martha Raddatz: Women Rule

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8:08 a.m. – Eva Longoria Wakes Up to with the White House

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Curated by ABC’s Z. Byron Wolf and Sarah Parnass

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Mali war turns musicians into military

French-led Mali offensive

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Until recently, Mali was better known for its music, mosques and manuscripts than for conflict


• Andy Morgan: Music and culture are Mali's shop-window to the world, its primary asset


• Conflict turns musicians, artists and writers into frontline soldiers, says Morgan


• Morgan: In Mali they're still singing, still writing, still fighting

Editor's note: Andy Morgan recently ended a seven-year stint as manager of Touareg rockers Tinariwen, leaving the music industry after 29 years to concentrate on writing. He has contributed features and reviews to The Independent, fRoots, Songlines, NME and Rolling Stone, and is currently working on books about the Sahara and West Africa.

(CNN) -- It's safe to assume that most people outside West Africa had never even heard of Mali until a few weeks ago. If they had, there's a good chance it was thanks to some beautifully flowing song or instrumental by one of the country's many world-renowned musicians: Salif Keita, Tinariwen, Oumou Sangare, Toumani Diabate, Rokia Traore... the list is long.

If it wasn't music then it might have been Mali's priceless medieval manuscripts that drew their attention, or its majestic mud-built mosques, its filmmakers, poets, photographers and writers.

Like Jamaica or Ireland, Mali's music and culture are its primary asset, its shop-window to the world, its "gold and cotton" as one famous musician put it.

Andy Morgan is a world music journalist and former manager of Touareg band Tinariwen.

Certainly, very few people would have included the words "Mali" and "Islamism" in the same sentence before April last year, when Islamist militia took control of over two thirds of the country and started amputating the hands of thieves, stoning adulterers and whipping women who happened to venture out into the streets 'improperly' dressed.

With the arrival of French forces and the mass hostage seizure at the Algerian oil facility of In Amenas, Mali and Islamism are two words that now appear not only to be inextricably linked but on the front page.

Six reasons why Mali matters

Of course, the association goes back much further than April 2012.

Al Qaeda and the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) moved south from Algeria and into Mali's remote northern deserts over a decade ago. It proceeded to amass a fortune from kidnapping, smuggling and money laundering whilst undermining the local economy, disrupting social relations and destroying the local tourist industry.

It brought along a hardcore form of Islam inspired by Wahabism and a hatred of the West that was previously almost unheard of in Mali, a country which has long contented itself with gentler and more tolerant brands of Sufism richly tinted by local pre-Islamic beliefs.

AQIM also managed to hijack a rebellion against the central government in Bamako by the nomadic Touareg people of the north that had been grinding on and off for the best part of fifty years.

This conflict, which first erupted in 1963, was always about power, influence and the self-determination of a marginalized people. It was also about preserving the Touareg's unique Berber culture. It had never been about imposing hard line Islam on anyone. But from round 2006 onwards, Touareg nationalism and Islamic terrorism became inextricably confused with each other.

Why Africa backs French in Mali

Indeed, there's a widespread theory, confirmed by the word of just a few bit-players in the drama but lacking any more conclusive evidence, that certain parties who were utterly averse to the idea of an independent Touareg state -- the Malian government, Algeria and others -- either deliberately implanted AQIM in the region, or at the very least tolerated its presence there.

It was hoped that the strategy would attract military aid and doom the Touareg nationalist project to failure. The theory might seem strange given the damage that terrorism has wrought in both Mali and Algeria but most Touareg I know accept it as gospel. We'll probably never know the whole truth.

What's certain is that the Sahara is one of the hardest places on earth for an outsider to understand. Its interlocking cogs of power and influence -- geopolitical, regional, governmental, tribal, mineral, criminal, spiritual, clan and family -- are fiendishly complex.

No foreign intervention can hope to achieve any long-term benefits if it cannot get to grips with the underlying political and social mechanism of this vast region.

2011 brought the Arab Spring and the end of Muammar Gadhafi, who had long been a stabilizing force in the Sahel, and both a promoter and a hinderer of Touareg nationalist ambitious. His weapons arsenals were opened up to armed groups of every stripe and in January 2012, the Touareg used this opportunity to reignite their rebellion in northern Mali. But it was al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb who eventually took control, either directly or through a network of alliances.

Now Mali's hopes lie with the French, who intervened on Friday January 11, after months of diplomatic wrangling at the U.N. and elsewhere.

France 'not a pacifist nation'

So the world has a new front on the global war on terror and France has a new battle to fight in Africa.

Within northern Mali itself, however, and throughout the Muslim world, this is not seen as a war on terror but as a cultural conflict, one that pits a group of people who feel that the future of their society will be best served by rejecting Western liberal values and returning to the core tenets of Islam against another group who believe in religious tolerance, secularism, democracy and music.

This conflict turns musicians, artists and writers into frontline soldiers.

Saudi Arabia destroyed its mausoleums and silenced its musicians decades, even centuries, ago. In the Algerian civil war of the 1990s, many musicians, writers and cultural figures were killed, prompting others to flee overseas.

In Mali they're still singing, still writing, still fighting, for the time being at least.

In this new battleground in the cultural wars of the Muslim world, a distant mirror of the religious wars that shook Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries, Malian musicians are taking a stand. That's why music matters. That's why Mali matters.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Andy Morgan.

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