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Around the Nation
5:02 pm
Sat January 19, 2013

How Did Tacoma, Wash. Get To Be America's 'Gayest City'?

Credit USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory
Tacoma, Wash., tops The Advocate magazine's list of "Gayest Cities in America." It was followed by Springfield, Mass., and Spokane, Wash. Advocate editor Matthew Breen says marriage equality gave the advantage to cities in Washington state this year.
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Originally published on Sat January 19, 2013 7:25 pm

Every year when The Advocate magazine publishes its list of the "Gayest Cities in America" it comes with a few surprises. This year was no different.

At the top of the list for 2013: Tacoma, Wash.

To Tacoma resident Ellen Cohen, the superlative was unexpected.

"In all of Tacoma coming out as No. 1 in anything would surprise me," she said.

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The Two-Way
9:45 am
Sat January 19, 2013

Hostages, Militants Reported Dead In Algerian Assault

Credit Leon Neal / AFP/Getty Images
British Defense Minister Philip Hammond (left) and U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta hold a joint press conference on the Algerian hostage crisis Saturday in London.
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Originally published on Sat January 19, 2013 6:51 pm

The four-day standoff in the Algerian desert came to a bloody end Saturday morning when Algerian forces stormed the gas plant where Islamist militants were holding foreign hostages.

Seven hostages were killed in the assault, as were 11 militants, Algeria's state media reported. In total, 32 militants and 23 other people died in the conflict, the Algerian interior ministry said in a statement.

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Shots - Health News
6:32 am
Sat January 19, 2013

Inching Closer To The Demise Of A Stubborn Parasitic Worm

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Credit Wes Pope / Chicago Tribune/MCT /Landov
A boy with multiple Guinea worms sits outside a containment center in northern Ghana, February 2007.
Credit Wes Pope / Chicago Tribune/MCT /Landov
A medical worker extracts a Guinea worm from a child's leg in northern Ghana, February 2007.
Credit Courtesy of The Carter Foundation
Seventeen countries have eliminated the Guinea worm parasite since 1986. Four countries remain: Mali, Chad, South Sudan and Ethiopia.
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What's the big fuss about Guinea worm, a parasite that now infects just a few hundred people? Well, the public health community finally has the nasty bug's back against the wall.

There were only 542 cases of Guinea worm worldwide last year, the Carter Center said this week. That's 48 percent less than in 2011. And it's a mere blip compared to the 3.5 million cases back in 1986.

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It's All Politics
5:53 am
Sat January 19, 2013

Inaugural Hijinks: 10 Odd Photos From Ceremonies Past

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Credit Scott Stewart / AP
Credit AP
Four years later, Eisenhower (far right) "doffed his homburg and bowed" to Miss Burma, the Republican elephant mascot from Ohio.
Credit J. Scott Applewhite / AP
What's so odd about President Bush giving the "Hook 'em, 'horns" salute of the University of Texas Longhorns during the inaugural parade in 2005? Nothing, unless you were in Norway, where people thought his gesture was a salute to Satan.
Credit AP
In 1961, when President John F. Kennedy was inaugurated, dogs were again part of the show. This time, Alaskan huskies pulled the State of Maine float along Constitution Ave.
Credit AP
That's right. During Dwight Eisenhower's inaugural parade in 1953, the president was lassoed by cowboy Monte Montana.
Credit Scott Stewart / AP
It was an "oops!" moment for first lady Nancy Reagan in 1985 when she forgot to introduce President Ronald Reagan during an inaugural event. It was too cold for an outdoor parade that year, so instead participants were invited to the Capital Center in Landover, Md.
Credit Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images
Incoming White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel makes a face before President Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009. The person behind him does not look amused.
Credit Robert F. Bukaty / AP
A topless protester braved the Washington, D.C., winter in 2001 during President George W. Bush's inaugural parade.
Credit Washington Star / AP
Maybe in color this image of fireworks in front of the Washington Monument would be fun and festive instead of kind of eerie? As you can probably tell, this display honored the inauguration of President Harry Truman in 1949.
Credit AP
In a less choreographed moment that same year, Vice President Richard Nixon laughed as a stray dog joined the parade.
Credit AP
Credit AP
Credit AP
Credit AP
Credit Marion S. Trikosko / U.S. News & World Report/Library of Congress
Credit Robert F. Bukaty / AP
Credit J. Scott Applewhite / AP
Credit Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images
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The presidential inauguration is a solemn and important occasion, of course, steeped in history and pomp. But it's also a time for parades and balls — and, sometimes, a bit of tomfoolery. As we prepare for President Obama's second inauguration on Monday, a look back at a few funny and unusual moments:

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The Salt
5:53 am
Sat January 19, 2013

Inaugural Balls Where Food Isn't An Afterthought

Credit J. David Ake / AP
Guests arrive for the Black Tie and Boots Inaugural Ball in Washington back in 2005 to celebrate President Bush's second term.
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Like everyone else in Washington, D.C., right now, we're gearing up for the long inaugural weekend, bracing ourselves for various events and balls around town that can be thrilling, patriotic, touristy and traffic-jamming, all at the same time.

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