AFP - US president-elect Barack Obama Wednesday telephoned UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon plus the presidents of Colombia, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa, his office said.
AFP - The United States on Wednesday condemned Al-Qaeda number two Ayman Zawahiri for calling US president-elect Barack Obama a “house negro,” saying it exposes his terrorist group’s anti-democratic values.
Politico - Count Joe Lieberman as on board for the HRC as SecState.
AP - The Bush administration is planning to relax regulations covering endangered species before President-elect Obama can reverse them.
AP - It’s Washington’s favorite parlor game during a presidential transition: trying to figure out who’ll land a top spot in the new administration. President-elect Barack Obama is weighing an array of Washington insiders and outsiders, including some Republicans, for Cabinet and other top positions, according to Democratic officials.
Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Tom Daschle, a key early supporter and former U.S. Senate leader, as his top official to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system, two Democratic sources said on Wednesday.
Reuters - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama selected Tom Daschle, a heavyweight former senator, to be his health secretary on Wednesday, while former President Bill Clinton took steps to help secure his wife the nation’s top diplomatic job.
Politico - Democratic officials said they see new signs that President-elect Barack Obama will ask Defense Secretary Robert Gates to stay in his post.
AP - Poland’s foreign minister said Wednesday he is trying to determine which way President-elect Barack Obama is leaning on U.S. missile defense plans in Europe.
AP - It’s a controversy that Republicans refuse to forget: Bill Clinton’s pardon eight years ago of fugitive financier Marc Rich. Just ask Eric Holder, President-elect Barack Obama’s top choice for attorney general.