The peaceful transfer of power that is an American hallmark took place at noon on Friday as Donald Trump became the forty-fifth President of the United States. Though I've been a prolific critic of Trump, I've never been one to join the "not my president" chant, and I was planning to lead with a hopeful message on a solemn day. But Forty-Five opened his tenure with a divisive campaign speech masquerading as an inaugural address. It was pointedly offensive to the former presidents behind him, presented a warped and hopeless version of American carnage, and delivered a harsh, off-putting and grim message to our allies abroad. Donald Trump has surprised us at every turn during this political process. And he surprised even his harshest critics today, on the downside. (On the plus side, it's been about an hour and there's been no nuclear war. So those who bet the over won.)

+ "From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it's going to be only America first, America first." Here's a transcript of the speech.

+ Here's a video of the speech. Bloomberg has a collection of photos. And you can follow some live updates of inauguration day.

+ And yes, the Potus Twitter account now has a new owner.

+ While the speech was poor, I sincerely hope that this presidency has many moments like the one when Trump met with a supporter named Shane Bouvet whose story had been featured in WaPo. Bouvet borrowed shoes and got a suit from a friend to attend the inauguration. Trump met with him personally, thanked him for his support, and offered him a check for $10,000.

"After Trump wound up his speech and pumped his fists in the air like a prize fighter, Obama shook his hand, clapped him on the arm and could be seen mouthing 'good job.'" From the Birther movement to the insinuations made during the incoming president's inaugural address, no president has ever been as falsely maligned as Barack Obama. And no president has ever served with more grace and dignity.

+ "We lost the first two games, so it was kind of embarrassing. At the start of the third one, he said, 'Look, I'm not losing all three games on my birthday. And that's an order." From GQ: The Oral History of President Barack Obama Playing Pickup Basketball.

+ Official White House Photographer Pete Souza took about two million photos of the outgoing president. Here are some of his favorites.

+ Next stop for Obama, a new website and Palm Springs.

"Some carried signs, including one that read: 'No peaceful transition.' Police cleaned up behind them as they marched, and authorities used chemical spray in an attempt to disrupt the vandalism. They ultimately herded the group away from the inauguration parade route with a large number of police vehicles and officers in riot gear, and they used concussion grenades -- which make a loud noise -- to break up the crowd." Sadly, some of the protests around DC became chaotic as participants blocked entrances, broke windows, and set fires.

+ Donald Trump drained the swamp…of inaugural attendees. The crowds in attendance for the event were much smaller than the past couple of inaugurations.

+ "This started out tonight being a small little concert, and then we had the idea maybe we'll do it in front of the Lincoln Memorial. I don't know if it's ever been done before. But if it has, very seldom. And the people came by the thousands and thousands, and here we are tonight, all the way back. All the way back." That said, the Inaugural eve concert didn't draw big crowds either.

+ There will certainly be comparisons between today's events and Saturday's long-planned women's march on Washington. How many people will be there (and at similar events in other cities)? Like everything, the answer to that question will be political. From FastCo: The science and politics of counting the crowds at the inauguration and women's march.

"President Obama took office in the middle of a devastating recession, and he introduced a stimulus bill that helped pull the country out of its plunge. Since then, many areas of the economy have (slowly but surely) recovered nicely. However, many Americans remain permanently scarred by the recession. In addition, many structural problems (inequality, better incomes for men, whites and Asians than for other Americans) remain." From NPR: The America Donald Trump Is Inheriting, By The Numbers.

+ From manufacturing jobs to babies named Donald, here are 17 metrics to watch in the Trump era.

+ Sixty-Seven Numbers That Define the Obama Era.

"For too long, we've been held back by burdensome regulations on our energy industry. President Trump is committed to eliminating harmful and unnecessary policies such as the Climate Action Plan and the Waters of the U.S. rule." For those wondering how much would change when it comes to issues of climate and the environment, it's probably worth noting that Trump took down the White House climate change page -- and put up a pledge to drill lots of oil.

Donald Trump used the phrase many in the GOP have been trying to get Obama to say for years, when he promised to rid the earth of "radical Islamic terrorism." While Obama has resisted that phrase, he has been particularly aggressive against terrorists, and that held true through his last two days in office, during which as many as 180 ISIS fighters were killed by airstrikes in Syria and Yemen.

For obvious reasons, two of my biggest concerns over the next four years are the way the media will be attacked, and the way the media will respond. Here's my take on the latter issue: Dear Journalists, Winter is Here. This is how you fight.

+ America lost a powerful investigative journalists, and one who was believed to know more about Donald Trump than any other reporter. From the NYT: Wayne Barrett, Fierce Muckraker at The Village Voice, Dies at 71.

"In a compulsory election, it does not pay to energize your base to the exclusion of all other voters. Since elections cannot be determined by turnout, they are decided by swing voters and won in the center. Australia has its share of xenophobic politicians, but they tend to dwell in minor parties that do not even pretend they can form a government." In the NYT, Waleed Aly makes a very compelling case why voting should be mandatory.

In a move that was unexpected (even by many US officials), El Chapo has been extradited to the US and pled not guilty in front of Brooklyn judge. Extradition long been his worst case scenario (and he hasn't even tried Chipotle yet).

+ NYT: Intercepted Russian Communications Part of Inquiry Into Trump Associates.

+ "Video showed two people -- a mother and her son -- being helped out by cheering rescuers, through a hole in the snow." Ten people have been found alive in the hotel buried by an avalanche in Italy.

+ Pandora is still huge, but it's widely considered to be in deep trouble. Billboard takes you inside the company's quest to take on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon.

"We take Gotham from the corrupt! The rich! The oppressors of generations who have kept you down with myths of opportunity, and we give it back to you... the people." Did Donald Trump's speech have a familiar ring to it?

+ Is Mark Zuckerberg thinking about running for president?

+ It was probably for a variety of reasons, but Michelle Obama sure had some pained expressions today.

+ "Jefferson wore the clothes 'of a plain citizen without any distinctive badge of office,' and walked from New Jersey Avenue and C Street, where he had been staying at a boarding house, to the Capitol." 35 interesting facts about inaugurations past.

+ And finally, I'm guessing no key official has ever attended an inaugural (or a Paddington-themed children's birthday party, or the Nutcracker, or a Patriots game) dressed quite like Kellyanne Conway.