President Barack Obama listens as Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, not pictured, speaks during their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009. Mr. Obama was to deliver a speech to a joint session of Congress and a nation on an economic precipice later in the day.
... Counterpoint
In his office at the Louisiana Governors Mansion, Gov. Bobby Jindal chats with staff members while working on the Republican Party response to Pres. Barack Obama's speech Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009, in Baton Rouge, La. Jindal will give the Republican Party's response to President Barack Obama's first address to Congress Tuesday night. The Louisiana governor's speech will be nationally televised.
Life Of The Party
King Zulu Tyronne Mathieu gives a thumbs up before his ride in the Zulu parade during Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009.
Crashing The Party
A camp chair with what is believed to be a bullet hole in it is shown at the scene where an infant and at least four other people were shot along a parade route packed with Mardi Gras revelers in New Orleans, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009.
Not Answering The Call
Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., leaves his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009, for the weekly Senate Democratic policy luncheon. Burris refused to resign on Tuesday, rebuffing a recommendation from the Senate's No. 2 Democrat who made it clear that the embattled Illinois lawmaker has little hope next year of winning the seat vacated by President Barack Obama.
Eye On The Sky
Air Traffic Control Specialist Patrick Harten, right, is all smiles as US Airways flight 1549 Capt. Chesley B Sullenberger III, left, and First Officer Jeffrey B. Skiles, center, arrive on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009, to testify before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Harten was the controller who was in contact with US Airways 1549 as it landed in the Hudson River.
Bernanke On Banking
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke, back to camera, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009, before the Senate Banking Committee. Facing Bernanke, from left are, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., committee chairman Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and the committee's ranking Republican Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.
Back In Action
Tiger Woods watches his drive as he practices for his return to competitive golf after having major knee surgery at the World Golf Championships Accenture Match Play Championship Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009, in Marana, Ariz.
Before The Fall
This handout photo released by Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., shows the launch early Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009, of a Taurus XL rocket equipped with NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite which apparently failed to separate from the launch vehicle and splashed into the ocean.