Wilmington, Delaware - In a series of treacherous journeys from the southern US states, abolitionist Harriet Tubman helped lead hundreds of African-Americans from slavery to freedom, years before the 1861-65 Civil War that brought an end to the practice in the United States.

One of the routes that Tubman would take was across the Christina River and into Wilmington, Delaware. It marked one of the dividing lines between states that still practised slavery in the south and free states to the north.

Washington/Philadelphia  - Calling for the country to work toward a more "perfect union," Barack Obama embarked Saturday on a historic train journey, the kick-off leg of four days of celebration leading up to his inauguration as the country's first African- American president on Tuesday.

Washington, Jan 17 : White supremacists across the United States are closely being watched by hate crimes experts and law enforcement officials as Barack Obama prepares to be sworn in as the first Black president of the United States next week.

So far, there is no known organized effort to express opposition to Obama’s rise to the presidency -- other than a call by the National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan for its members to wear black armbands and fly the US flag upside down on Inauguration Day and Obama’s first full day in office, the Daily News reported.

Washington, Jan 17 : The security measures will be unprecedented on Tuesday as Barack Hussein Obama is sworn in as the 44th US President and America''s first black head of the state.

Millions are expected to make the pilgrimage to see him place his left hand on Abraham Lincoln''s burgundy velvet-bound Bible to take the inaugural oath.

The US Secret Service is overseeing a security force of more than 40,000 people, including 7,500 active duty soldiers, 10,000 National Guard troops and 25,000 law-enforcement officers, FOX News reported.

New York, January 17 : In the run-up to U. S. President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration, political experts have started to gauge what sort of behaviour will be expected from his wife Michelle as the next First Lady.

Robert Watson, author of The Presidents’ Wives, says that apart from caring for her own family, she will also have to show concern about issues that matter.

“You’re talking about an Ivy-educated lawyer who’s the epitome of the modern woman,” the New York Daily News quoted him as saying.

Washington, January 17 : Barack Obama is reportedly desperate to continue using his BlackBerry even after assuming office as the 44th President of the United States.

If Obama retains his hand-held electronic device, he will become the first sitting president to use e-mail.

However, no final decision has been made as yet on whether Obama will continue using his Blackberry.

Previous presidents did not use e-mail because it can be subpoenaed by Congress and courts and may be subject to public records laws.