President-elect Barack Obama has left Chicago to join his family in Washington, as he prepares to become the 44th president of the United States.

President-elect Barack Obama, Mrs. Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia at the Hay Adams Hotel in Washington, DC, getting ready for the first day of school, 05 Jan 2009

Mr. Obama arrived in the nation's capital late Sunday. His wife Michelle and daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, seven, arrived there Saturday. The girls are starting school Monday at Sidwell Friends - a private school in the Washington, D.C. area.

Mr. Obama told reporters he got a little choked up sitting in his empty house in Chicago looking through photographs of Malia and one of her friends.

About 100 people turned out to greet the president-elect as he arrived at his temporary home in Washington's Hay-Adams Hotel. There were also about two dozen people protesting his refusal to denounce Israel's invasion of Gaza.
 
In other news, Mr. Obama's presidential inaugural committee says Mr. Obama will host the first-ever "Neighborhood Inaugural Ball" with tickets free or at an "affordable price."

The committee says the ball at the Washington Convention Center will be the "premier" event of the inauguration evening on January 20th and will feature a "robust interactive component," including webcasting and text messaging to link others from across the country to the president and the event.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.