Amtrak Expects Throngs Along Obama's Route

Crowds of Barack Obama supporters are expected to line the railroad tracks between Philadelphia and Washington when the president-elect retraces Abraham Lincoln's journey to Washington the weekend before his inauguration, the AP reports. Authorities don't know how many people will throng the 137 miles of tracks but are using the funeral procession of Robert Kennedy—which drew an estimated 1 million mourners—as a guide.

Obama will stop in Delaware to collect Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his family, and the procession will also stop in Baltimore before making its way to Washington. The private charter train, which will be guarded by thousands of local police officers as it passes through their jurisdictions, will also carry a group of “everyday Americans” who have been invited to the inauguration.

Florida, Tebow Are Champs

Tim Tebow gave Florida the second-half jolt it needed, and the Gators toughed out a second BCS title in three years. Their 24-14 win over No. 2 Oklahoma in a choppy, sloppy affair made them national champions. The high-scoring shootout between Heisman Trophy winners never materialized. Oklahoma's Sam Bradford couldn't score from in close and Tebow threw two interceptions, as many as he had all season.

Tebow, however, rescued the Gators by driving them to the clinching score—a jump pass for a 4-yard touchdown to David Nelson with 3:07 to play that made it 24-14. Tebow was picked the game's most outstanding player, running for 109 yards. His passing wasn't so precise—18 for 30—yet it was his sheer will that kept coach Urban Meyer's team going. "Just call him Superman," said teammate Percy Harvin.

401(k) Decay Spurs Calls for Change

Americans depending on 401(k) plans for their retirement have taken a hammering as the stock market plunged during the past year, prompting critics to question the shortcomings of the system, reports the Wall Street Journal. Some 50 million American have 401(k)s, and Congress is weighing a revamp. "It's so crazy to have a system where people can lose half their assets right before they retire," says one expert.

Experts say 401(k) plans hold $2.5 trillion in value—down more than $1 trillion since October 2007, when the market peaked. Critics point to the sink-or-swim nature of the programs, which force investors to make decisions without much guidance, as a serious flaw. "This is the biggest test that the 401(k) plan has seen to date, and it has failed," says another expert.

Palm Unveils 'Pre' Smartphone

Palm unveiled a new smartphone today, the Pre, which it hopes will compete with the iPhone and restore the company’s place in the market, the New York Times reports. Industry experts say it won't be easy. The Pre has a touchscreen, 8 gigs of storage, and a new operating system designed for fast websurfing. Palm says it will “redefine the center of your access point to the Internet.”

The Pre will be available “as soon as possible,” at an undisclosed price and exclusively from Sprint. Palm touted the operating system, saying it "gives us the opportunity to innovate the way Google does. This product is just the starting point.” But a new luxury device is always a tough sell in a souring economy. “Palm finds itself in a very difficult situation,” one analyst said. “They’re flying into a headwind here.”

With Fewer Retail Jobs, More Cheating on Hiring Test

Cheat on the personality test many retailers make job applicants take as part of the hiring process and you’ve got one foot in the door—and a lot of company, reports the Wall Street Journal. The computer-administered tests are feeding a growing culture of savvy applicants who share answers, take tests for each other, and even post answer keys online.

A tightening job market and slow economy has retailers inundated with job seekers and, as one way to save managers’ time and reduce human-resource expenses, many turn to a multiple-choice online test, Unicru, from the firm Kronos, to pre-screen applicants. But with answers and test-taking strategy posted on websites like Facebook, some critics say the tests have become worthless.

Stimulus Widens Unemployment Coverage

The Obama stimulus plan will include a $7 billion provision intended to force states to extend unemployment insurance to part-time workers, reports the Wall Street Journal. A separate plan subsidizes COBRA payments and allows uninsured workers who get laid off to buy into Medicaid, and all three measures are riling critics. "Those aren't stimulus," said the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee. "Those are ideological accomplishments in the guise of economic stimulus."

With states' budgets even leaner than the federal government's, critics on both sides of the aisle are especially worried about the unemployment-insurance measure, which would be permanent; the health-care provisions expire after 2 years. Said the Senate Budget Committee chair, Democrat Kent Conrad: "Any additional tax cuts, where there will be pressure to make them permanent, or spending proposals that have a permanent nature to them, give me pause."

The Best (and Worst) Jobs in America

How desirable is your daily grind? A new study aims to answer that question with a list ranking the best and worst jobs according to five factors: “environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands, and stress,” the Wall Street Journal reports. In the end, the CareerCast list suggests, nerds rule.

Best jobs:

Mathematician
Actuary
Statistician
Biologist
Software engineer

Worst jobs:

EMT
Seaman
Taxi driver
Dairy farmer
Lumberjack