Inauguration Aggregation

EBay has decided to ban ticket sales to the January 20 inauguration, the Washington Post is reporting. Senator Dianne Feinstein announced earlier this week that she was crafting legislation to make such sales illegal. The online auction site is still deciding whether or not to ban ticket-selling for other inaugural events, including the parade. 

Obama and company are not off the fundraising hook just yet, it seems—they'll need to raise more money to cover Obama's transition to the White House. The Wall Street Journal reports that the government will chip in $8.5 million, but, if President Bush's most recent $40 million inauguration tells us anything, the process can cost much more than that. We just have to ask: Where does all that money go?

Dallas-based developer JPI, which recently completed two apartment buildings by Nationals park, will rent unleased units to out-of-towners during the inauguration. The Washington Business Journal says JPI is requiring a three-night minimum for stays at the Axiom at Capitol Yard and Jefferson at Capitol Yards. How much they're renting units for has yet to be released. 

Yesterday we told you that R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles offered to perform at Obama's swearing-in, and now we're reading about rumors that Jennifer Hudson may be invited to perform. Obama transition spokesman Nick Shapiro denied the rumors, noting that the president's inauguration committee hasn't even been formed. But a performance by Hudson does make sense: Like Obama, she's from Chicago, and the president-elect has previously expressed a love for the kind of music Hudson sings. Do we smell a cat-fight? 

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Emily Leaman