Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2009

"A-list stars and an equally diverse crowd jammed the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial to celebrate the nation and its historic president-elect yesterday," The Washington Post noted this morning. Indeed, "entertainment royalty" made headlines and images of Bruce Springsteen, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Denzel Washington and others appeared in print and broadcast coverage. But today's most poignant image might actually come from Newsday on Long Island, almost 400 miles from the Mall in Washington. A photo of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. filled Newsday's tabloid front page. Inset was a photo of the president-elect with a quote that began among African Americans and went viral during the campaign: "Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so Obama could run. Obama ran so we can all fly."

Along Historic Train Route

President-Elect Barack Obama and family boarded a train in Philadelphia on Saturday for a 137-mile journey into history. In a rally before departing for Washington, D.C., Obama paid tribute to his political hero -- President Abraham Lincoln. The Philadelphia Inquirer noted on its Sunday front page that the train trip "was meant to evoke Abraham Lincoln's travel by train to his inaugural in 1861."

2009's inaugural journey stopped in Wilmington, Del., to pick up another passenger -- Vice President-Elect Joe Biden. The News Journal of Wilmington noted that the train stopped to pick up Obama's "co-worker" and described the trip to the capital as "perhaps the most celebrated commute in history."

Before reaching Washington, the train also made a stop in Baltimore, where "Thousands brace the cold to see their next president." The Sun used its dominant image to focus on Obama and said, "Next stop: history."

"A Long Journey Ends," The Washington Post said atop its package of photos, stories and references to inside and Web site content. Its special coverage included a "Grab & Go" Metro section inaugural package and a commemorative Washington Post Magazine.

It might have been a vintage train car, but there isn't anything old-fashioned about new media coverage of the inaugural. The Post offered mobile inaugural alerts starting at 5 a.m. Tuesday. The News Journal led its inaugural Web site with the appropriate headline "Road to the White House Goes Through Delaware."

A Miracle on the Hudson

No deaths or serious injuries are being reported after a US Airways plane with 155 people on board went down in the Hudson River. The plane that took off from LaGuardia airport apparently hit a flock of birds that disabled two engines.

Newsday on Long Island published a staff-written story on its Web site: "Jet crashes into Hudson River; all passengers rescued." The site offered video and photos and asked readers for the names of passengers on the flight.

From the plane's destination in Charlotte, N.C., The Observer reported that a passenger called a neighbor by cell phone from a rescue ferry and that Bank of America and Wells Fargo confirmed some employees of the Charlotte-based banks were on the flight. The Observer also had a photo gallery of AP photos and stills taken from TV video. Among the photos was a shot of passengers standing on a wing waiting to be rescued.

"Ferries and other boats quickly converged to help with a rescue effort, as the plane drifted south in the water," The New York Times Web site said.

The Observer's "All survive crash of Charlotte-bound flight" and The Washington Post's "'A Miracle on the Hudson'" headlines were reminiscent of the "Miracle" headline in the first edition of USA TODAY.

Florida is No. 1

The University of Florida defeated Oklahoma 24-14 to win the BCS title game Thursday night in Miami. Hometown newspaper, the Gainesville Sun, celebrated with a "Three-rific" headline, a reference to the three national titles won by the Gators. A front-page note apologizing for the late delivery of the newspaper (blame the game's late start) accompanied a dominant photo, a main story and information on a victory event planned for Sunday. The Sun's Web site provided video highlights and photos of post-game celebrations. Disappointment appeared on the Tulsa World, as "OU Swamped. Gators hand Sooners fifth-straight BCS loss." The title game was played in Miami, where the Herald promoted the win by the in-state team with "No. 1!" Its front-page coverage was a photo and column -- "Game lived up to hype -- for unexpected reasons."

Mr. President Times Five

The Washington Post called it "Presidents' Day at the White House" as the current president, the three living former presidents and President-Elect Barack Obama met for 90 minutes over lunch. Obama requested the meeting -- the first White House gathering of all living U.S. presidents since the early 1980s. The Globe and Mail of Toronto called it "The fraternity of five." Newsday simply said, "Power Lunch." Pictures of the group -- George H.W. Bush, Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter -- made front pages far from Washington, including in South America and Europe.

What's That ..

... at the bottom of today's New York Times? An advertisement.

The newspaper joined others across the U.S. and around the world in printing ads on Page One. The first ad was bought by CBS, promoting its No. 1 status among networks. The headline in the ad: "Front Page News."

Still publishing sans advertisements (at least for now) is The Washington Post's Page One.

A Shocker in New Mexico

New Mexico's largest newspaper called the news a shocker after the state's governor withdrew from consideration as commerce secretary in the Obama administration. The Albuquerque Journal devoted three-quarters of Page One to the news that broke Sunday, along with reaction and a recap of the reason Bill Richardson withdrew -- a federal investigation into one of the governor's political donors. The New Mexican in Santa Fe said, "New grand jury will be impaneled to probe a possible 'pay-to-play' scheme." The newspaper broke out the fallout -- that the lieutenant governor's plans to take over for the governor have been put on hold. The New Mexican led its Web site today with Richardson's comment from this morning that he "was hurting" over the decision.