President Obama's first full day in office

On his first full day as President, Barack Obama is getting straight to work. In one of his first actions in office, President Obama issued an order to halt all military commissions for detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The 120 day stay will be used to assess the commissions set up by the Bush administration. Just hours after being sworn in, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel issued a memorandum halting many of Bush's "midnight regulations" until Obama's staff can conduct a legal and policy review.

President Obama also signed executive orders today that change the rules that oversee lobbyist's role in the new administration: presidential appointees will no longer be able to accept gifts from lobbyists, and will be barred from returning to lobby the administration once they leave their post. The sweeping ethics reforms, which some groups say are groundbreaking, also limits the role of lobbyists who come to work for the administration.

Addressing the Mideast crisis, Obama called the leaders of Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Fatah party; he did not call Hamas leaders. As many await an announcement about troop withdrawal from Iraq, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden also held a meeting on Iraq with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other military and foreign policy advisors.

Turning to the economy, Obama was briefed by economic advisors, including National Economic Director Lawrence Summers, and by the White House coordinator of energy and climate policy Carol Browner, as evidence of a critically injured economy continues to mount as the financial markets bore a disastrous day yesterday.

At his nomination hearing, Geithner defends financial bailout

Moving down Pennsylvania Avenue, from the White House to the Capital, Congress also addressed the economy. The Senate held a confirmation hearing for Obama's Secretary of the Treasury nominee, Timothy Geithner. Geithner's confirmation turned mildly controversial, due to his failure in paying a portion of his taxes. But at his confirmation hearing, Senators appeared to overlook his tax delinquency for the sake of an ailing economy in need of a cabinet official tasked with oversight and direction. Washington Editor Leigh Ann Caldwell has the story.

Click here for the full newscast for Wednesday, January 21, 2009