Morning Edition

The Inaugural parade will have floats and marching bands and for science geeks, a special treat: life-size replicas of the Mars rover, Curiosity and the Orion space capsule. The biggest attraction may be marching along side of the replicas. Bobak Ferdowsi, the go to guy for last years Mars landing, told Wired magazine he'll reveal a special hairstyle just for the parade.

Vice President Joe Biden first ran for president in the 1980s. He tried again in 2008 before becoming President Obama's running mate. At a weekend inaugural event, Biden declared, "I'm proud to be president of the United States." His son politely corrected him. One persistent question is whether Biden may try one more run in 2016.

Morning Edition has a team of reporters spread out across the city, getting a feel for how things are going in different areas. Thousands of people are descending on the nation's capital to be a part of President Obama's second inauguration.

The widow of a slain Mississippi civil rights leader Medgar Evars will help open the inaugural ceremony Monday. President Obama has selected activist Myrlie Evers-Williams to deliver the invocation. She's the first woman and lay person to have the honor.

After the four-day hostage crisis in Algeria, the death toll has risen to at least 81. Algerian forces that were searching the natural gas plant in the Sahara that was taken over by Islamist militants found at least 25 more bodies on Sunday.

The casualties are still being counted from last week's attack on an Algerian gas plant by Islamist militants. The four-day siege left dozens of people dead. The group warned of more such attacks against any country backing France's military intervention in neighboring Mali. For a perspective on Mali, Renee Montagne talks to Vickie Huddleston, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Mali from 2002 to 2005.

Both India and the U.S. seem disappointed with each other after the high expectations raised by President Obama's election in 2007. India is concerned about the uncertainty in U.S. policy toward China and Afghanistan.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. An amateur prospector in Australia thought he'd stumbled on a car hood. It turned out to be a giant gold nugget shaped like a goldfish. The owner of the local gold shop told the Herald newspaper that if the anonymous prospector was silly enough to melt it down it would be worth nearly $300,000.

Unlikely, since its size and shape make it so rare. The gold will be worth far more to a museum or collector. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Good morning, I'm David Greene with news of a fast food chain that's coming up short. Earlier this week, a customer in Australia ordered a Subway Foot-Long sub only to find it measured a mere 11 inches. He posted a photo alongside a tape measure on the company's Facebook page, sparking outrage from customers and an investigation by the New York Post. They bought seven Subway Foot-Longs in New York City and four of them measured less than 12 inches. Subway is looking into this sizable matter.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene. Good morning. President Obama is set to take the oath of office for a second time. He has promised an ambitious agenda for the next four years. NPR's Mara Liasson tackles the question of whether it's ambitious enough.