By Sarah Maslin Nir
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Abraham Lincoln was staring at me.
OK, it was just his statue. But as I stood in the back recesses of the stage during the rehearsals for the "We Are One" inaugural celebration Saturday while on assignment for Rolling Stone, sandwiched between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, I was sure that if I took a step any direction, someone — a guard, a policeman, even Abe himself — would sound the alarm bells and send me packing. In front of me, dozens of gospel singers were humming and oohing the chorus of Bruce Springsteen's "The Rising." Over the sea of their shoulders I could see the Boss himself, standing at the edge of the stage facing them, teaching them his lyrics.
My objective was to get as close as an average person (i.e. one without official clearance) could possibly get to the rehearsals. As I wandered closer and closer to the stage, I realized no one was stopping me. Offstage, James Taylor and John Legend were strumming, Shakira, Will.I.Am and Stevie Wonder were loosely jamming, but I was drawn to the memorial's steps by the swelling choir sounds and Bruce's husky voice.
Hesitantly, I put a toe on the first step to the stage. I was immediately spotted. Read More...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On my walk from Dupont Circle to the National Mall on Sunday morning, there was a calm over D.C. that I had not expected. Thousands and thousands are expected for the 
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Yes, first-daughters-to-be Malia and Sasha Obama are about to move into the most famous 132-room, 35-bathroom house in the world, complete with a bowling alley, movie theater, jogging track, swimming pool and putting green. Big deal. The commander in chief of stage daddies, Billy Ray Cyrus, dropped a hint recently that the girls have been asked to appear on "Hannah Montana" sometime in the spring (around the same time the "Hannah Montana" movie hits theaters). Given what big-time 
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Good morning from Mesa, Arizona, where the air is clean, the streets are cleaner and every building looks like it was built in 1997.