VOA News

Canada has assumed the presidency of the Group of Eight industrialized nations for 2010, a year that will see the country play a much larger role on the international stage.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will host the leaders of the
Canada takes over the presidency from Italy, which presided over debates in 2009 on food security, as well as the nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea.

The G8 includes the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Russia.

Canada will also chair this year's Group of 20 developed and developing nations, and host the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles

Scientist at the Page Museum cleans a mammoth tusk
Scientists in Los Angeles have uncovered a treasure trove of Ice Age animal bones, including the nearly complete fossil of a huge Columbian mammoth. The discovery at the La Brea Tar Pits should reveal more about life in the region up to 40,000 years ago.

The La Brea Tar Pits are asphalt deposits that contain the preserved remains of ancient animal and plant life, and they have shed light on life in the Ice Age since excavations started in 1913. This is the biggest find since then. The newly discovered fossils are collectively called Project 23, after the 23 large crates in which excavators placed the compacted fossils, soil and tar for later analysis.

Scientists have so far identified more than 700 specimens, including the skull of a prehistoric American lion and the

Washington, DC—The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies today announced the details for the 2009 Inaugural Luncheon, which will follow the swearing-in of President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden.

The luncheon, hosted by the members of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, has been a tradition for more than a century. Approximately 200 guests including the new President, Vice President, members of their families, the Supreme Court, Cabinet designees, and members of Congressional leadership will attend the event in Statuary Hall.

The details of the luncheon have been designed to reflect the theme of the 2009 Inaugural ceremonies, "A New Birth of Freedom," which celebrates the

WASHINGTON — Celebrate the historic inauguration of Barack Obama as America’s 44th president with the official inauguration commemorative souvenir from the United States Postal Service.

This beautiful philatelic folio includes:

A collectible stamped envelope with silk portraits of the newly elected President Barack Obama and Vice President-Elect Joseph Biden.
An official commemorative Inaugural Digital Color Postmark.
Photographs and biographical information.
A brief commentary on inaugural

This is a special Limited Edition Inauguration Day Official Commemorative Souvenir including a Folio and Special Collectible Stamped Envelope.

Preserve the thrill of a historic event with this souvenir keepsake from the U.S. Postal Service®. Issued to commemorate the inauguration of America’s 44th President, this elegant folio includes:
Collectible stamped envelope with silk portraits of President–Elect Barack Obama and Vice President–Elect Joe Biden and a commemorative color postmark
Photographs and

(U.S. Senate Collection information)
Vice-President Wheeler Taking the Oath of Office in the Senate Chamber
Just before the President-elect takes the oath of office on Inauguration Day, the Vice President-elect will step forward on the Inaugural platform and repeat the oath of office. Although the United States Constitution specifically sets forth the oath required by the President, it only says that the Vice President and other government officers should take an oath upholding the Constitution. It does not specify the form of that oath.
The First Congress passed an oath act on June 1, 1789, authorizing only senators to administer the oath to the Vice President (who serves as the president of the Senate). Later that year, legislation passed that allowed courts to administer all oaths and affirmations. Since 1789, the oath has been changed several times by Congress. The present oath repeated by the Vice President of the United States, Senators, Representatives, and other government officers has been in use since 1884. The oath reads:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.
While tradition dictates that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court administers the oath of office to the President-elect, a variety of officials have administered the oath to Vice Presidents. The president pro tempore of the Senate administered the oath to the first three Vice Presidents—John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Aaron Burr—and to many Vice Presidents from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. Some Vice Presidents took the oath from the Chief Justice. On some occasions, the outgoing Vice President administered the oath to the Vice President-elect. Since World War II, Vice Presidents have chosen friends and associates to administer the oath of office.
The location of the Vice President's oath-taking ceremony has also changed since John Adams became Vice President in 1789. Today, the Vice President recites the oath on the west front terrace of the U.S. Capitol. Until 1937, most Vice Presidents took the oath of office in the Senate chamber, prior to the President's swearing-in ceremony. This made the Vice President's swearing-in ceremony distinct and separate from the President's.
For most of the nation's history, Inauguration Day was March 4, which was also the final day of the congressional session. During the morning, the galleries of the Senate chamber would begin to fill with family members and friends of Senators, Representatives, and the incoming and outgoing Presidents and Vice Presidents. Members of the House, the diplomatic corps, cabinet members, and members of the Supreme Court would enter next. Finally, the Vice President-elect, the President, and the President-elect would enter the crowded chamber, which would then grow quiet to hear the Vice President deliver his farewell address before gaveling the session closed.
At noon (the doorkeeper often had to push the clock hands back to fulfill the noon adjournment requirement), the Vice President-elect would take the oath of office, and then deliver his Inaugural address. Following that, the newly-sworn Vice President would call the Senate into extraordinary session, and then the Senators-elect would come forward and take their oaths of office. Finally, the procession would form and make its way to the east front portico of the Capitol for the President's swearing-in ceremony.
In 1937, Inauguration Day moved to January 20, a change enacted by the 20th amendment to the Constitution. The Vice President's swearing-in ceremony also moved, from the Senate chamber to the Inaugural platform on the Capitol's east front. In 1981, the Inaugural ceremonies moved to

WASHINGTON - Today, in keeping with its commitment to hold inaugural events that celebrate our common values and reflect the diversity and history of our great nation, President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s Inaugural Committee officially extended an

(inan.info)-By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has begun assembling a White House team in advance of the presidential transition January 20. Mike OSullivan reports that after the excitement over the historic election dies down, the next president will face some serious domestic and international issues.

Barack Obama outlined some of the challenges facing the nation in his victory speech in Chicago Tuesday night. They include the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, environmental issues and an economic crisis. He predicted setbacks and

(inan.info)-VOAnews-Bessie Coleman, 1892-1926: She Dared to Dream and Became the First African American Female Pilot
She believed that the air is the only place where everyone is free. Transcript of radio broadcast:

VOICE ONE:

I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember with People in America in VOA Special English. Today we tell about Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman pilot.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:
Bessie Coleman was born in Atlanta, Texas, in eighteen ninety-two. Her mother was African American. Her father was part African American and part American Indian. Her family was poor. Bessie had to walk more than six kilometers to go to school. When she was nine years old, her father left the family to search in Oklahoma for the territory of his Indian ancestors.

In Texas then, as in most areas of the American South, black people were treated unfairly. They lived separately from white people and established their own religious, business and social traditions. Bessie was proud of her race. She learned that from her hard-working and religious mother.

VOICE TWO:

Bessie had to pick cotton and wash clothes to help earn money for her family. She was able to save a little money and went to college in the state of Oklahoma. She was in college only one year. She had to leave because she did not have enough money to complete her studies. But during that year, she learned about flying. She read about the first flight of the Wright Brothers and the first American female pilot, Harriet Quimby. Bessie often thought about what it would feel like to fly like a bird.

VOICE ONE:

When she was twenty-three, Bessie Coleman moved to Chicago, Illinois to live with two of her older brothers. There, she worked at several jobs. But she wanted to do something more important. She heard stories from pilots who were returning from World War One. She decided she was going to learn how to fly airplanes. She soon found this to

(inan.info)-President Bush Attends Monticello's 46th Annual Independence Day Celebration and Naturalization Ceremony

President Bush on Friday said, "...We must remember that the desire for freedom burns inside every man and woman and child. More than two centuries ago, this desire of freedom... had inspired the subjects of a mighty empire to declare themselves free and independent citizens of a new nation. Today that same desire for freedom has inspired 72 immigrants from around the world to become citizens of the