Defterios: What keeps Davos relevant

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Since the late 20th Century, the ski resort of Davos has been synonymous with the World Economic Forum


• Defterios: I first came to Davos as a relatively junior correspondent, two months after the Berlin Wall fell


• Fall of Communism, China's opening, removal of apartheid in South Africa unfolded in the 90s
  
  


• It's the inter-play between geo-politics and business is what keeps the forum relevant

Davos (CNN) -- Veterans of Davos often refer to nature's awe-inspiring work as the Magic Mountain.

The name comes from an early 20th century novel by Thomas Mann -- reflecting on life in an alpine health retreat, and the mystery of time in this breath-taking setting.

Read more from John Defterios: Why Egypt's transition is so painful

Since the late 20th century, this ski resort has been synonymous with the World Economic Forum, which represents networking on its grandest scale.

This year nearly 40 world leaders -- a record for this annual meeting -- 2000 plus executives and it seems an equal number of people in the media, like yours truly, are in pursuit of them all. The setting is certainly more chaotic then a decade ago. The agendas of the Fortune 500 chief executives are to filled with bi-lateral meetings and back door briefings to allow for the spontaneity that made this venue unique.

Davos gets ready for leaders' gathering

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I first came to Davos as a relatively junior correspondent in 1990, two months after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was arguably then, after nearly two decades in the conference business, when the forum became a fixture on the global calendar.

Quest: U.S. economy to dominate Davos 2013

I can remember, quite vividly, working out of a bunker (like we do today) in the Davos Congress Centre. West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl sat side-by-side with his East German counterpart Hans Modrow. That meeting before the global community helped set the stage for monetary union, a huge unification fund for what became Eastern Germany and shortly thereafter German elections.

The early 90s at Davos were dominated by European reconstruction after the fall of communism. Former party bosses came to the forum to convince business leaders that a transition to market economics could be delivered. Boris Yeltsin made his Davos appearance during that chaotic transition from the USSR to today's Russia.

Davos 2013: New year, same old problems?

In 1992, Chinese Premier Li Peng used the setting here in the Alps to articulate plans for the country's economic opening up to the world. Not by chance, the architect of Washington's engagement with Beijing, the former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger also took a high profile that year.

Again only two years later in 1994, Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres walked hand in hand on stage, holding a public dialogue leading up to the creation and recognition of the Palestinian Authority.

The World Economic Forum, as the saying goes, was positioned to be in the right place at the right time. While the author of the Magic Mountain talked about the complexity of time around World War I, in the 1990s time was compressed here.

The fall of communism, the lowering of global trade barriers, the opening up of China, the removal of apartheid in South Africa and the proliferation of the internet all unfolded in that decade.

Interactive: How's your economic mood?

As those events came together, so too did the major players as they made the journey to Davos. Michael Bloomberg, evolving as a global name in financial data and now the Mayor of New York City, sat alongside Microsoft CEO Bill Gates. U.S. President Bill Clinton outlined his party's historic move to the political center before a packed audience of global business executives.

To spice things up, rock stars and actors, as they became activists, chose the Davos platform: Bono, Richard Gere, Sharon Stone, Brad and Angelina would have the wealthiest and most powerful corporate titans freeze in their tracks.

Earlier this week, I walked into the main plenary hall as workers put the final touches on the stage and lighting. It is a venue which has welcomed countless political leaders and business executives, during internet booms and banking busts, in the midst of a Middle East crisis and even during the lead up to two Gulf Wars.

But that inter-play between geo-politics and business -- during the best and worst of times -- is what keeps the forum relevant. It allows this setting at the base of the Magic Mountain to endure and recreate something unique during what Mann rightly described as the ongoing complexity of our times.

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SGX's Q2 net profit rises 17% to S$76m

SINGAPORE : Rising interest in derivatives trading helped lift earnings for the Singapore Exchange (SGX) last quarter.

Asia's second-largest bourse operator reported a 17 per cent on-year rise in second-quarter net profit to S$76 million.

It also attracted a large number of new bond listings in the same quarter.

Derivatives trading has been the star performer in SGX.

Over the October to December quarter, derivatives daily average volume on SGX hit a record of 358,532 contracts, up 30 per cent on-year.

This was supported by rising trading interests in China A50 futures and Japan Nikkei 225 options.

Not to be undone, the securities market performed well too.

Its daily average volume rose 8 per cent for the quarter to hit a trading value of S$1.2 billion.

This translates to a revenue of S$58 million for the securities business segment.

SGX said the better performance was due to improvements in investor sentiment following stability over the Europe debt situation and improved US economy.

Magnus Bocker, chief executive officer of Singapore Exchange, said: "We should remember the enormous amount of liquidity in the market. Not so much in the equity market, but actually more in the fixed income and currency markets, and with chasing yields and lot of very successful and growing companies, I think we can all expect this sentiment to continue. I think we can expect more flows into securities."

Some analysts are bullish on SGX's prospects going forward.

The said the improved investment climate globally may benefit the exchange operator.

Ken Ang, investment analyst at Phillip Securities Research, said: "SGX is very well placed to benefit from this increasing attractiveness of the equity market and therefore resulting in increase in trading value."

SGX attracted eight new listings in its second quarter - raising S$798.9 million.

While the number seems small, it came amid declines in the global initial public offering (IPO) market.

In 2012, global IPO volumes fell 27 per cent, with the lowest level of funds raised since 2009.

Kenneth Ng, head of Singapore research at CIMB Research, said: "I think while that (derivative) is great and that diversified the revenue of SGX, SGX still has a rather pertinent problem of trying to increase the security turnover velocity and value by retail initiatives, attracting listings and so forth."

Apart from seeking more IPOs, SGX also attracted some 90 new bond listings, raising S$39.7 billion for the quarter.

- CNA/ms

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'My brother didn't deserve to die'

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: A former plant worker aided militant attackers, Algeria says


• The Texas man killed in the Algeria plant standoff loved Africa, his daughter says


• "I'll be angry for a long time," Victor Lovelady's brother says


• The White House again backs the Algerian response

(CNN) -- Victor Lovelady, ever the family man, was excited about the job.

The money was good, sure, but he also got 28 days off for every 28 days he put in, time he could spend with his wife and two children.

Yes, it was in a remote natural gas facility in Algeria, but the Nederland, Texas, man assured his family it was safe. And it was in Africa, a place Lovelady seemed to love.

"He felt something there," his daughter, Erin, told reporters Tuesday. "He was so excited to go there. I don't really know why, but he just loved it."

Just 10 days after he returned to the sprawling In Amenas complex from a visit home, terrorists sped in on pickups, overtook the compound and made hostages of its workers, including Lovelady.

By the time the standoff ended, four days later, Lovelady had become one of three Americans and one of 37 hostages in all who lost their lives. He was 57.

"It's just unfair," Lovelady's brother, Mike Lovelady, said Tuesday. "My brother didn't deserve to die."

In addition to Lovelady, Americans Gordon Lee Rowan and Frederick Buttaccio also died. Seven U.S. citizens survived the crisis, the State Department said. It did not elaborate, citing privacy concerns.

Like Lovelady, Rowan, too, felt safe working there.

He said "we're in a compound in the middle of nowhere, and we've got security, and I'll be fine," Rowan's former neighbor, Gwen Eckholm, told CNN affiliate KNXV-TV in Phoenix. "I guess you can't really be secure any place."

Still waiting for answers

Nearly a week after the attack began, families and governments around the world were waiting Tuesday for the Algerian government to provide a full accounting of the dead and missing.

The search continued for five workers Algerian authorities say remain missing after the North African country's special forces stormed the compound Saturday in a bloody raid that left most of the terrorists and their remaining captives dead.

Meanwhile, Algerian authorities hailed as a hero the only one of their countrymates among the hostages who died in the attack. While few details about his contribution were available Tuesday, Algerian authorities said he had raised the alarm that allowed plant workers to shut down operations and go into hiding.

Militants shot the man between the eyes just as he alerted plant workers of the attack, Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said.

The targeted gas facility is run by Algeria's state oil company, in cooperation with foreign firms such as Norway's Statoil and Britain's BP. Some 790 people worked there, including 134 foreign workers.

The attack began at dawn January 16 -- in retaliation, Algeria said, for the country allowing France to use its airspace for an offensive against Islamist militants in neighboring Mali.

Regional analysts said that would appear to be unlikely -- the operation was too sophisticated to have been planned in the few days between France's intervention in Mali and the attack on the gas plant.

The attackers, Algerian officials said, drew on the expertise of a driver from Niger who had once worked at the plant.

On Thursday, Algerian special forces moved in after the government concluded the militants planned to blow up the gas installation and flee to Mali with the foreigners as hostages.

One former hostage, Mohadmed Aziri, told state-run Chinese broadcaster CCTV about militants flooding into the compound, taking it over bit by bit, searching door to door for workers. He also described rescue efforts.

"The experience was too terrible. I heard the sounds of gunshot, bullets hitting doors," he told CCTV. "I heard the governmental forces and terrorists fighting in the distance. Judging from the sounds of gunfire, the fighting was very intense."

The incursion succeeded in freeing some hostages -- but not all -- and several of them died.

Lovelady survived Thursday's raid.

'We felt in our hearts that he was coming home'

And if his family knew him at all, he was likely biding his time, coolly trying to find a way to help himself and others out of the unthinkable predicament they found themselves in.

"He wouldn't be the person who is crying and screaming and begging," Erin Lovelady said.

And after the initial exhilarating news, Lovelady's family felt sure he would pull through.

"We all believed, we felt in our hearts that he was coming home," his daughter said.

But then, on Saturday, Algerian special forces backed by helicopter gunships raided the plant for a second time. They finished off the militants but were unable to save the remaining hostages. Militants may have executed them, Mike Lovelady said he'd been told.

The news, Erin Lovelady said, was "devastating."

Read more: Bloody Algeria hostage crisis ends after 'final' assault, officials say

Mike Lovelady said he's angry with the terrorists who took the compound his brother thought was safe, resulting in the deaths of people who had traveled there merely to make a better living for their families.

But he said things maybe could have been different had Algeria allowed U.S. or British special operations forces to take over.

Maybe, Mike Lovelady said, the U.S. Navy SEALS or Britain's Special Air Service commandos could have taken out the militants while sparing the hostages.

"We all feel it could have been handled differently," he said.

However, Algeria's interior ministry said security forces were compelled to intervene quickly "to avoid a bloody turning point of events in this extremely dangerous situation." Officials said Monday that had the terrorists succeeded in blowing up the plant, it would have caused death and destruction in a 5-kilometer (3.1 mile) radius.

On Tuesday, U.S. officials reiterated their support for Algerian officials.

"The blame for this tragedy rests with the terrorists who carried it out," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

Pentagon spokesman George Little said U.S. officials believe al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb was likely responsible for the attack.

The attackers came from eight countries, the Algerian government has said: Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Mali, Niger, Canada and Mauritania.

Read more: Nations scramble to account for missing after Algeria hostage crisis

As the family awaits the return of Lovelady's body, and more answers about how he died, Mike Lovelady said he's determined not to let his brother's legacy die with him.

He said he intends to press Congress to keep up the fight against terrorism.

"I'll be angry for a long time," he said.

CNN's Yoko Wakatsuki, Hamdi Alkhshali, Greg Botelho and Michael Pearson contributed to this report.

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U.K. grandma gets death sentence in Bali

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.

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Teen Planned Walmart Attack After Killing Family

The New Mexico teenager who used an assault rifle to kill his mother, father and younger siblings told police he hoped to shoot up a Walmart after the family rampage and cause "mass destruction."

Police said they are also considering charging the shooter's 12-year-old girlfriend.

According to new information released by police today, Nehemiah Griego, the 15-year-old son of an Albuquerque pastor, had plans to kill his family, his girlfriend's family, and local Walmart shoppers for weeks before he acted on the impulse on Sunday.

The shooting spree began shortly around 1 a.m. on Sunday, when Griego snuck into his parents' bedroom while his mother, Sara Griego, was asleep. There he raided the closet where the family kept their guns, and immediately used a .22 rifle to kill her, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department.

Griego then shot three of his younger siblings in the home, including a 9-year-old, 5-year-old, and 2-year-old, and waited for his father to come from his overnight shift working at a nearby rescue mission. When his father, Greg Griego, walked into the home around 5 a.m., unaware of what had taken place, Griego shot him multiple times with the AR-15 rifle, Sheriff Dan Houston said today.

Greg Griego was a former church pastor at Calvary Church in Albuquerque, and worked as a chaplain at a local jail where he counseled convicts. The family was very involved in the church, according to its website.

Susan Montoya Bryan/AP Photo

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Griego then packed up the guns, including two shotguns, as well as ammunition for the rifles, and planned to drive to a Walmart to shoot additional people.

Houston said today that Griego called his 12-year-old girlfriend Sunday and ended up spending the entire day with her rather than going to the Walmart. Around 8 p.m. on Sunday, the pair drove to Calvary Church and someone on the church's staff then called 911, Houston said.

"At this time, Nehemiah had been contemplating this for some time. The information that Nehemiah had contemplated going to the local Walmart and participating in a shooting in there is accurate," Houston said. "There is no information at all that he went to church to cause anyone bodily harm there. The suspect also contemplated killing his girlfriend's parents."

The girlfriend's name was not released, but police are investigating whether to press any charges against her, Houston said.

Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the Griego home around 9:15 p.m. on Sunday and arrived 10 minutes later, where they found the four bodies.

Griego quickly confessed to the crime, telling investigators he was "frustrated" with his mother. Deputies said he was "unemotional" and "very stern" during the confession.

"The motive was purely that he was frustrated with his mother. He could not articulate to our investigators any farther," Houston said. "In the time our investigators spent with him, it was a very casual (statement), he was just frustrated with how things were, and would not even articulate any further details of that frustration."

"It's horrific," Houston added.

Griego reportedly gushed to police about his love for violent video games during the interrogation, Houston said. He told police he loved to play Modern Warfare and Grand Theft Auto.

The suspect was involved heavily in games, violent games, it's what he was into," Houston said. "He was quite excited as he discussed this with our investigators."

Houston said that Griego had occasionally lost touch with his family and then reconnected with them multiple times in his life. He told investigators that his father had taught him how to shoot the weapons and the pair had practiced shooting them together.

Griego has five older siblings who were not living at the home at the time of the shooting and were unharmed.

He is facing murder and child abuse charges and will be tried as an adult, according to police.

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How Obama made opportunity real

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.

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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.

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India, Australia to start nuclear energy talks

NEW DELHI: India and Australia plan to begin civil nuclear cooperation talks in March after Canberra agreed last year to open negotiations to export uranium fuel to the energy-hungry South Asian nation.

The two countries will hold the first round of talks in the Indian capital, Indian foreign minister Salman Khurshid said in a statement.

"We shall be commencing negotiations on a Civil Nuclear Energy Cooperation Agreement in March," Khurshid said after discussions with his Australian counterpart, Bob Carr, in the Indian capital.

Australia had earlier refused to sell uranium to India as it has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but reversed its stand last October as it sought to improve ties with one of Asia's third biggest economy.

"India is a key part of Australia's future," Carr said.

The two countries have said the formal negotiations could last up to two years.

New Delhi -- backed by the United States -- won a special exemption in 2008 from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which governs global nuclear trade, to allow it to buy reactors and fuel from overseas.

India, which has tense relations with its nuclear-armed neighbour Pakistan, had been subject to a global embargo since the 1970s when it first conducted a nuclear weapons test.

New Delhi has sought to forge close ties with a host of countries with deposits of uranium, including Mongolia, Tajikistan and Canada.

India is heavily dependent on coal and produces less than three percent of its energy from its existing atomic plants. The government hopes to raise the figure to 25 percent by 2050.

Although Australia does not use nuclear power itself, it is the world's third-ranking uranium producer and holds an estimated 23 percent of the world's reserves.

-AFP/ac

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'So long as we seize it together'

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: President Obama calls for fulfilling American ideals


• Many of same challenges remain from Obama's first term


• Obama has vowed to press for overhaul of immigration policies, find new ways to boost economy


• Flag-waving crowd fills the National Mall

Follow our real-time Inauguration Day live blog at cnn.com/conversation.

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama launched his second term Monday by calling on the nation to live up to its founding ideals and for Americans to fulfill their citizenship by participating in the process to bring needed change.

In becoming the 17th U.S. president to deliver a second inaugural address, Obama invoked the country's history of facing hardship in citing the chronic federal deficit, rising health care costs, climate change and equal rights as continuing challenges to be faced.

"We are made for this moment, and we will seize it -- so long as we seize it together," Obama said at the U.S. Capitol as flag-waving celebrants thronged the National Mall for the 57th presidential inauguration.

Before the speech, the nation's first African-American president and Vice President Joe Biden took their oaths of office for the second time in two days. Later Monday, Obama will lead the traditional parade up Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House and attend two official inaugural balls.

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Amid the pomp and ceremony, with heralding trumpets announcing the arrival of dignitaries and red, white and blue bunting festooned throughout central Washington, the event symbolized American democracy with a peaceful extension of power based on last November's election that returned Obama to the White House.

Obama's unfinished business and battles ahead

Americans, Obama said in concluding the roughly 2,000-word address, "have the power to set this country's course." He urged people to fulfill their citizenship by meeting "the obligation to shape the debates of our time -- not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals."

While focusing on broader themes of democracy and citizenship, Obama referred to some specific issues facing the country after his first four years in power.

He sounded themes from his re-election campaign last year, saying Americans understand that "our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it."

The nation faces "hard choices" to reduce its chronic federal deficits and the costs of health care," Obama said, "but we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future."

Unlike the election campaign, Obama made a direct reference to climate change, saying the nation would "respond to the threat ... knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations."

He made made a reference to gun control in saying that the nation needed to ensure that "all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm."

Obama also said Americans "still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war," pledging to "show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully -- not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear."

The loudest cheer came when Obama said the nation's journey remained incomplete "until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts," and "until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law."

Monday's ceremony followed a private swearing-in on Sunday at the White House to satisfy the constitutional obligation of taking the oath of office on January 20.

At the public celebration, two former presidents, Cabinet officials, Supreme Court justices, members of Congress and other dignitaries filled the temporary facade on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol.

Not in attendance was Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, the designated "survivor" for the event.

Katy Perry brings 'Fireworks' to inauguration kids' concert

Obama begins the second half of his presidency with the opportunity to make it more historic but facing some of the same challenges that he struggled with in the first four years.

He hosted congressional leaders from both parties for tea on Monday morning, and will take part in a traditional lunch with them after his inauguration speech.

On the Mall, Carlos Arieta and his wife, Sharon, took in the scene after driving from Atlanta to witness history. The former Washington residents said it was their first inauguration in person.

Surprised by the throngs gathered a few hours before the speech on a clear morning with temperatures just above freezing, Arieta said "it's nice to see all the different kinds of people."

Obamas, Bidens participate in National Day of Service

A new CNN/ORC International poll released Monday indicated less excitement this time than four years ago, when nearly two million people crowded the Mall despite frigid weather for Obama's historic first inauguration.

In January 2009, nearly seven in 10 Americans questioned in a CNN survey said they were thrilled or happy that Obama was about to take office. Now, according to the new, that number is down 18 points, to 50%.

Back then, six in 10 saw Obama's inauguration as a celebration by all Americans of democracy in action, with just 39% saying it was a political celebration by the supporters of the winning candidate.

Now, the numbers are nearly reversed, with 62% saying the second inauguration is a celebration by those backing the president, and 35% saying it's a celebration of democracy.

"The thrill is gone, along with the hope that the start of a new presidential term of office will bring a divided nation together," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

Gergen: Obama 2.0 -- tougher, wiser?

Reality of second-term presidencies

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 act.

For Obama, that difference is even sharper. His historic ascendancy to the White House in 2008 came with soaring public hopes and expectations for a new kind of governance that would close the vast partisan gulf developed in recent decades.

However, a litany of challenges including an inherited economic recession and repeated battles with congressional Republicans over budgets and spending only hardened the opposing positions in Washington.

Obama's signature achievements, including major reforms of the health care industry and Wall Street, became symbols of political division, with opponents constantly accusing him of hindering needed economic recovery.

Obama's second-term priorities

A second-term Obama has vowed to press for an overhaul of the nation's immigration policies and new ways to boost the sputtering economy, proposals that are bound to spark battles with his Republican rivals, and oversee the implementation of Obamacare.

And the shootings at a Connecticut elementary school last month put the divisive issue of gun control on his immediate agenda.

CNN polling released Sunday showed a majority of Americans -- 54% -- believe Obama will be an outstanding or above average president in his second term, while 43% said he'd be poor or below average.

And while overall, seven in 10 Americans hope the president's policies succeed, only four in 10 Republicans feel that way, with 52% hoping that Obama will fail.

13 reasons to follow the inauguration on CNN platforms

Sunday swearing-in

Obama's swearing-in on Sunday took place in the ornate Blue Room, an oval-shaped reception space in the president's official residence, where he was joined by his wife, Michelle, and his two daughters.

The event took less than a minute and Obama didn't make any formal 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 the vice president's extended family and a few Cabinet officials gathered to watch the ceremony.

Sunday evening, the Obamas watched Latino acts at "In Performance at the Kennedy Center," which was followed by the "Let Freedom Ring" concert. The "Red, White and Blue Inaugural Ball" and "Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball" closed out Sunday's activities.

Obama also thanked donors at an event at the National Building Museum, telling them, "When we put our shoulder to the wheel of history, it moves forward."

But Obama also told them that his remarks were going to be short, given the speech he would be delivering on Monday, saying, "There are a limited amount of good lines, and I don't want to use them all up."

Viewer's guide to the inauguration

CNN's Tom Cohen, Dana Davidsen, Ashley Killough, Paul Steinhauser, Dana Bash, Jessica Yellin, Dan Lothian, Brianna Keilar, Kevin Liptak and Gregory Wallace contributed to this report.

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Official: 3 Americans total died in Algeria attack

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.

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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.

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President Obama Calls for 'Collective Action'

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.

"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."

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo

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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.

"A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has begun. America's possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention," Obama said, sounding optimistic tones.

"We are made for this moment, and we will seize it," he said, "so long as we seize it together."

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.

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