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U.K. grandma gets death sentence in Bali

Labels: Health

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.

Group Finds More Fake Ingredients in Popular Foods

Labels: Business

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."

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.

How Obama made opportunity real

Labels: World

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.

Best of 2013 inauguration

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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.

Football: Cardiff sign Sunderland's Campbell

Labels: Technology

LONDON: Championship leaders Cardiff have signed striker Fraizer Campbell on a three-and-a-half-year deal from Premier League club Sunderland, the Welsh club announced Monday.

The 25-year-old England international scored just 10 goals in 72 appearances for Sunderland after joining the north-east side from Manchester United.

Campbell came through the Old Trafford youth system before signing professional forms with English giants United in 2006.

He had loan spells with Antwerp and Tottenham Hotspur but made his mark at Hull, scoring 15 goals in 32 starts and helping them reach English football's top flight.

After recovering from injury, he made his full England debut against the Netherlands 11 months ago but has scored just once in 15 appearances this season for the Black Cats.

Despite Cardiff sitting 10 points clear at the top of the Championship and leading the charge for promotion to the lucrative Premier League, none of their strikers have been in the goals this term.

Heidar Helgusson is Cardiff's top scorer with just seven goals in 24 starts.

-AFP/ac

The best Inauguration Day tweets

Labels: Lifestyle

By Brandon Griggs and Doug Gross, CNN

updated 12:56 PM EST, Mon January 21, 2013 | Filed under: Social Media

Singer Beyonce greets President Barack Obama at Monday's Inauguration Day swearing-in ceremony.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

The pundits and comedians of Twitter weigh in on Monday's Inauguration Day events

People commented on first-family fashion, TV anchor gaffes, president's speech

NASA tweeted a link to a photo of the National Mall taken from space

(CNN) -- Maybe it didn't have quite the grandeur of President Barack Obama's historic inauguration four years ago. But Monday's Inauguration Day events showcased the pomp and circumstance of the U.S. government at its finest.

We may not have royal weddings in the States, but this is about as close as it gets.

And, where there is public spectacle, there is Twitter, the rapid-fire platform where the world's online social critics record their musings. From politicos to comedians to ordinary citizens, some offered heartfelt thoughts on the historical importance of the day, while others jockeyed for a cheap laugh and a few retweets.

Here are some of our favorites. (We'll be adding to this list as the day goes on.)

Barack Obama ‏-- I'm honored and grateful that we have a chance to finish what we started. Our work begins today. Let's go. -bo

Eric Cantor, House majority leader ‏-- This is a great day for all Americans to celebrate and to remember that the Capitol belongs to all.

TJ Holmes ‏-- Can't help but wonder if this is last time in my lifetime I'll get 2 see an African American take presidential oath of office. #Inaug2013

Sandra Lee ‏-- OK #inaug2013 watchers, who is that handsome teenaged boy making eyes at Malia Obama? #VeryCute

Philip DeFranco ‏-- Excited about this inauguration. If Obama sees his shadow there will be 6 more years of crippling crippling debt.

Speaker John Boehner -- Embracing #MLK's call to serve & make the most of this moment God has given us http://1.usa.gov/10gcJvH #MLKDay

Andrew Kaczynski, BuzzFeed reporter ‏-- Can't believe you guys are watching the inauguration while Scooby Doo is on.

Catherine Q -- Malia and Sasha look so sweet. And so grown up! #inaug2013

Mark Harris, EW columnist ‏-- "There's Morgan Freeman--I'm sorry, uh, sorry, Bill Russell!"--George Stephanopoulos, who will never live that down, on ABC just now.

Ana Marie Cox ‏-- Karl Rove in his basement, enacting a Romney inauguration with life-sized cardboard figures.

VI ‏-- Look at all those flags! Proud to call myself an American today

Michelle Freed ‏-- Me: Kids, come watch the Inauguration! Kids: Neat. Now, can we go watch SpongeBob upstairs? *bows head and sighs* #Inaug2013

Malcom Glenn -- Unquestionably the largest cheer so far for a jumbotron appearance has gone to Jay-Z and Beyonce...louder than Joe and Jill Biden. #inaug13

The White House ‏-- "Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people." —President Obama #inaug2013

Omar L. Gallaga ‏ -- I opened for Beyoncé." -- something inaugural poet Richard Blanco gets to say forever. #inaug2013

StevieG the truth -- Obama's being inaugurated, it's Martin Luther King Day and Beyonce's singing the anthem. Black folk are having the best Monday EVER.

Official: 3 Americans total died in Algeria attack

Labels: Health

Updated at 12:32 p.m. ET

Two additional Americans were killed in last week's hostage standoff at a natural gas complex in Algeria, bringing the final U.S. death toll to three, a U.S. official told CBS News Monday.

Seven Americans made it out safely.

The family of Victor Lynn Lovelady told CBS affiliate KFDM-TV in Beaumont, Texas, Monday that the FBI informed them Saturday of his death.

Previously, two other deceased Americans were identified to CBS News as Frederick Buttaccio of Katy, Texas, near Houston, and Gordon Lee Rowan.

The FBI has recovered the bodies and notified all the victims' families.

Play Video

Algerian hostage crisis: Death toll now more than 80

Militants who attacked the Ain Amenas gas field in the Sahara had offered to release some of the captive Americans in exchange for the freedom of two prominent terror suspects jailed in the United States: Omar Abdel Rahman, a blind sheik convicted of plotting to blow up New York City landmarks and considered the spiritual leader of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist convicted of shooting at two U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

The Obama administration rejected the offer outright.

Last week's desert siege began Wednesday when Mali-based, al Qaeda-linked militants attempted to hijack two buses at the plant, were repelled, and then seized the gas refinery. They said the attack was retaliation for France's recent military intervention against Islamist rebels in neighboring Mali, but security experts argue it must have taken weeks of planning to hit the remote site.

Five Americans had been taken out of the country before Saturday's final assault by Algerian forces against the militants.

An Obama administration official told the Associated Press two further Americans survived the four-day crisis at an insecure oil rig at the facility. They were flown out to London on Saturday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Algeria says 38 hostages of all nationalities and 29 militants died in the standoff. Five foreign workers remain unaccounted for.

President Obama Calls for 'Collective Action'

Labels: Business

Invoking the nation's founding values, President Obama marked the start of his second term today with a sweeping call for "collective action" to confront the economic and social challenges of America's present and future.

"That is our generation's task, to make these words, these rights, these values -- of life, and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness -- real for every American," Obama said in an inaugural address delivered from the west front of the U.S. Capitol.

"Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life; it does not mean we will all define liberty in exactly the same way, or follow the same precise path to happiness. Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time," he said, giving nod to the yawning partisan divide.

"But it does require us to act in our time."

The call to action, on the eve of what's shaping up to be another contentious term with Republicans and Congress, aimed to reset the tone of debate in Washington and turn the page on the political battles of the past.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo

Inauguration 2013: President Obama's Opportunities Watch Video

Official Oath of Office 2013: President Obama Watch Video

"For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate," Obama said. "We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect."

The address, lasting a little less than 20 minutes, laid out in broad terms Obama's vision for the next four years, alluding to looming policy debates on the war in Afghanistan, deficit reduction, immigration, and overhaul of Social Security and Medicare.

Obama also became the first president, at least in recent inaugural history, to make explicit mention of equality for gay and lesbian Americans. He made repeated mentions of "climate change," something no president has said from such a platform before.

The president stuck closely to his campaign themes, offering few new details of his policy proposals, however. Those are expected to come next month in the State of the Union address Feb. 12.

Hundreds of thousands packed the National Mall in chilly 40-degree temperatures and brisk wind to hear Obama's remarks and witness the ceremonial swearing-in. While the crowds were smaller than four years ago, the U.S. Park Police said the Mall reached capacity and was closed shortly before Obama took the podium.

Shortly before the address, Obama placed his left hand on the stacked personal Bibles belonging to President Abraham Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and raised his right to repeat the oath administered by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

"I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States," he said, "and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Obama and Biden were both officially sworn in during private ceremonies Sunday, Jan. 20, the date mandated by the Constitution for presidents to begin their terms.

Obama's speech: Learn from Lincoln

Labels: World

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Julian Zelizer: Second term inaugural addresses are always a challenge

He says the public has had four years to make a judgment about the president

Obama can learn from second term speeches of Lincoln, Wilson, FDR

Zelizer says they did a good job of unifying America and sketching vision of the future

Editor's note: Julian Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is the author of "Jimmy Carter" and of "Governing America."

(CNN) -- The second inaugural address is always more difficult than the first. When a president-elect first steps onto the national stage, he still enjoys a certain degree of innocence and hope. Americans are waiting to see if the new president will be different. When a new president delivers his speech, voters don't yet have a record that might make them cynical.

But by the second term, voters are familiar, and often tired, with the occupant of the White House. Even though they liked him more than his opponents, the president has usually been through some pretty tough battles and his limitations have been exposed. It becomes much harder to deliver big promises, when the people watching have a much clearer sense of your limitations and of the strength of your opponents.

Julian Zelizer

So President Barack Obama faces a big test when he appears before the nation Monday.

Opinion: Presidents shouldn't swear in on a Bible

Obama now is Washington, and no longer someone who will be able to shake up the way Washington works. Voters believe that Congress is dysfunctional and have little confidence that legislators will respond to his proposals.

Overseas, the instability and violence in the Middle East has shaken the confidence of many Americans that Obama can achieve the kind of transformative change he promised back in 2009.

Obama, who is a student of history, can look back at some past second inaugural addresses if he wants guidance. Three of the best of these addresses offer a roadmap.

Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1865: The strongest was from Lincoln, who gave his talk amid the brutality of the Civil War but chose to stress the theme of healing and unity, Lincoln gave a masterful performance that offered inspiration and encouragement for the reunification of the nation. Lincoln famously said: "With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations." Rather than boasting of military victory or threatening Southern forces, he stepped outside the battle to offer the nation, as a whole, the path forward.

Woodrow Wilson, March 5, 1917: Although Wilson had run on a campaign to keep America out of world war, he was aware that such intervention was inevitable. During his second inaugural address, Wilson took the opportunity to start preparing the nation for what was about to come. He told America to think about the global responsibilities it had to accept, even if much of the nation was not prepared to do so. "We are provincials no longer," he said, "The tragic events of the thirty months of vital turmoil which we have just passed have made us citizens of the world. There can be no turning back."

Opinion: Why 'Hail to the Chief' remains unsung

Franklin Roosevelt, January 20, 1937: Roosevelt gave a rousing performance that outlined the fundamental vision which shaped the wide array of policies he had put forward in his first term. While many people had criticized FDR for lacking any ideology and for being a pragmatist without principle, in his second address he explained the rationale behind his actions: "I see millions denied education, recreation, and the opportunity to better their lot and the lot of their children. I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished." For Democrats, the speech remains a powerful defense of government and the rationale behind his program.

To replicate some of this success, Obama will need to figure out how to inspire a nation that is frustrated by the gridlock of Washington and the laggard state of the economy and worried about instability overseas.

Obama can learn from all three of these presidents.

Like Wilson, he can talk to Americans about goals they should aspire to achieve, ways in which the country can accept new obligations in a changing world.

Like Lincoln, he can urge the nation to move beyond the discord and division that has characterized political debate in the past four years.

Finally, like Roosevelt, he can use his speech to provide some of the justification and outlook that has shaped his policies. This would undercut the ability of Republicans to define his policies for him, as has been the case for much of his first term, and motivate supporters who have often felt that Obama remained too much of a mystery.

Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter.

Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Julian Zelizer.

Japan govt says no confirmation on nine dead in Algeria

Labels: Technology

TOKYO: Japan's government said Monday it was aware of reports that nine Japanese had died in the desert standoff in Algeria, but had no confirmation of the fate of 10 of its nationals who remain unaccounted for.

In a midnight press conference, chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters vice foreign minister Minoru Kiuchi had arrived at an airport near the gas facility that was over-run by Islamist gunmen last week.

He said Kiuchi would go into the complex and to a hospital in the town of In Amenas in an effort to determine what had happened.

The press conference came after a witness in In Amenas told AFP he knew of nine Japanese people killed during the 72-hour hostage crisis.

"We are aware of such information, but we have not confirmed any such numbers," Suga told reporters.

He said Kiuchi was with the president of contracting firm JGC, which employed 17 Japanese nationals in the area, and would be joined by another team from Japan who would work to confirm what had happened to hostages.

Suga said those known to have made it to safety would be flown back to Japan.

"To help the seven Japanese whose safety was confirmed return home, we plan to dispatch a government aircraft there," he said.

The bodies of 25 hostages have been found in and around the gas plant by Algerian forces as they mopped up at what appeared to be the end of the three-day stand-off.

Thirty-two kidnappers were also killed and the army freed 685 Algerian workers and 107 foreigners, said Algeria's interior ministry. The government in Algiers has warned the death toll could rise.

-AFP/ac

'I, Barack Hussein Obama ...'

Labels: Lifestyle

Presidential inaugurations and oaths

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

President Obama sworn in at brief White House ceremony

Vice President Joe Biden sworn in at Naval Observatory

NEW: Obama and Chief Justice John Roberts perform oath flawlessly this time

NEW: "I did it!" Obama exclaims to family after swearing-in ceremony

Watch CNN's comprehensive coverage of President Barack Obama's second inauguration this weekend on CNN TV and follow online at CNN.com or via CNN's apps for iPhone, iPad and Android. Then, on Monday, follow our real-time Inauguration Day live blog at cnn.com/conversation. Need other reasons to watch inauguration coverage on CNN's platforms? Click here for our list.

Washington (CNN) -- The official business of the 57th inauguration commenced on Sunday with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden completing their oaths of office, quietly satisfying the constitutional obligation to be sworn in on January 20.

The presidential and vice presidential swearings-in took place a day before Obama and Biden take their public oaths at the Capitol in front of hundreds of thousands gathered on the National Mall.

Obama's swearing-in took place in the ornate Blue Room, an oval-shaped reception space in the president's official residence, where the president was joined by his wife, Michelle, and his two daughters. Other members of his family, including the first lady's mother and brother, stood out of view of the camera.

Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath to Obama - his third time to hold that honor. After Roberts flubbed the order of words during the public ceremony in 2009, a do-over took place in the White House Map Room the next day to erase any question that Obama was officially the president.

Roberts didn't have any trouble with the 35-word oath this time around. He read from a white note card with the words printed on it. Slash marks where Roberts paused to have Obama repeat the words were clearly visible.

The event took less than a minute and Obama didn't make any remarks or statements.

He did take a moment to hug his wife and daughters, exclaiming: "I did it!"

Justice Sonia Sotomayor performed the honors for Biden at his home at the Naval Observatory in Washington, where was sworn in under a painting by American artist N.C. Wyeth of Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural - an event remembered for the 16th president's solemn address.

That was hardly the mood Sunday at Biden's home, where the vice president's extended family and a few Cabinet officials gathered to watch the ceremony.

His son Beau - Delaware's attorney general - was there, as were his other children, Hunter and Ashley, and a smattering of Biden grandchildren.

He placed his hand on a massive Biden family Bible, held by his wife Jill, and repeated the oath.

Both Obama and Biden traveled to Arlington National Cemetery after Biden's swearing-in for a traditional wreath-laying ceremony.

And the president and his family attended services celebrating the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the most historic churches in Washington.

The tone of Obama's inaugural address Monday will be "hopeful," White House senior adviser David Plouffe said Sunday.

"What he's going to do is remind the country that our founding principles and values still can guide us in a changing and modern world," Plouffe said on CNN's "State of the Union."

"He's going to talk about the fact that our political system doesn't require us to resolve all of our disputes or settle all of our differences but it doesn't compel us to act where there shouldn't and is common ground," Plouffe added. "He's going to make that point very clearly."

Plouffe underscored that Obama's State of the Union address, to take place February 12, will present a more specific "blueprint" of the next four years.

Obama to acknowledge divided Washington in inaugural address

The nation's first African-American president will become only the 17th U.S. leader to deliver a second inaugural address, before he joins the traditional parade up Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.

Organizers expect 800,000 people to attend Monday's public ceremony -- less than half of the estimated 1.8 million onlookers who crammed the National Mall in 2009.

13 reasons to follow the inauguration on CNN platforms

The smaller crowd this time around reflects the reality of second-term presidencies, when the novelty and expectations of a new leader have been replaced with the familiarity and experiences of the first four years.

Inauguration activities kicked off on Saturday with Obama and first lady Michelle Obama and Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, leading volunteers across the country in National Day of Service Activities.

Obamas, Bidens participate in National Day of Service

The Obamas joined in a project at Burrville Elementary School in Washington, aiding volunteers who were sprucing up furniture. Cameras at the school caught the president and first lady staining a bookcase.

The president told volunteers that his family would do volunteer projects on holidays. "So I was taught from a young age," he said, that volunteering "is really what America is all about."

The Bidens volunteered at the National Guard Armory in Washington, helping to put together care packages for service members deployed overseas. Biden's office said volunteers at the armory would produce 100,000 packages.

"We still have 68,000 troops in harm's way in some of the most godforsaken territory in the world," Biden said, adding that the military members can find comfort "knowing that we back home just remember, we know what's going on."

Chelsea Clinton, honorary chairwoman of the Day of Service, said at a kickoff event on the National Mall that Saturday was the 19th anniversary of the day her father, former President Bill Clinton, signed the bill that designated a National Day of Service to coincide with Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the federal holiday honoring the late civil rights leader.

"When he signed the bill, he reminded us of what Dr. King called life's most persistent and urgent question: What are you doing for others?" she said. "And in my family, the only wrong answer to that question is 'nothing.' "

Later Saturday, singer Katy Perry headlined a concert for children of military families and Washington schoolchildren, hosted by Michelle Obama and Jill Biden. Singer Usher and the cast of the TV show "Glee" were among others who performed.

Katy Perry brings 'Fireworks' to inauguration kids' concert

The Saturday event was to recognize the sacrifices and "level of maturity that is required from military kids," the first lady said.

"It means always thinking about things that are so much bigger than yourself. It means growing up just a little faster and working just a little harder than other kids," she said. "And it means doing the greatest thing you can ever do with your life at such a young age, and that is to serve our country."

Sunday evening, the Obamas will watch Latino acts at "In Performance at the Kennedy Center," which is followed by the Let Freedom Ring concert. The Red, White and Blue Inaugural Ball and Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball are also scheduled in the capital.

The president will speak to donors at a candlelight celebration at the National Building Museum on Sunday night.

Viewer's guide to the inauguration

Monday's events will be downsized from Obama's first inauguration. After events in front of the Capitol, the Obamas and Bidens will lead the traditional parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. There are only two presidential balls this year, down from the 10 staged in 2009.

While the anticipated crowd for Monday's events is expected to be about half the size of the one that gathered four years ago, the temperature will be a bit higher than in 2009, when the high hovered around the freezing mark. While the early morning temperature this time will be in the 20s, the forecast calls for a high temperature in the upper 30s or low 40s. Still, organizers cautioned attendees to bundle up because they're likely to experience prolonged exposure to the cold as they watch the events and make their way to and from them.

CNN's Tom Cohen, Dana Davidsen, Brianna Keilar, Kevin Liptak, Dan Lothian and Gregory Wallace contributed to this report

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U.K. grandma gets death sentence in Bali

Group Finds More Fake Ingredients in Popular Foods

How Obama made opportunity real

Football: Cardiff sign Sunderland's Campbell

The best Inauguration Day tweets

Official: 3 Americans total died in Algeria attack

Algerian hostage crisis: Death toll now more than 80

President Obama Calls for 'Collective Action'

Obama's speech: Learn from Lincoln

Japan govt says no confirmation on nine dead in Algeria

'I, Barack Hussein Obama ...'

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