Undecided Senate races seen as key for Obama
The outcome in the US Senate is still in doubt more than two weeks after the election - and with it the possible fate of President-elect Barack Obama's agenda.
Democrats hold 58 seats in the Senate that takes office in January (counting independents Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who usually vote with them), and they're within reach of 60 - and a possible filibuster-proof majority - with races in Georgia and Minnesota still up in the air.
"The elections aren't over," Obama says in a radio ad that began airing yesterday across Georgia on behalf of Democrat Jim Martin, who faces Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss in a Dec. 2 runoff.
"I want to urge you to turn out one more time and help elect Jim Martin to the United States Senate," continues Obama, who has also dispatched hundreds of his staffers and canvassers. "Jim Martin's a man of his word, and I know he'll do everything he can in the Senate to help me change Washington."
Chambliss, meanwhile, received some help yesterday from Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, who warned that a Democratic victory could be the first step toward a European brand of socialism.
"This election is about whether we want to change America. And I want to keep America America," Romney said. "I think in this race you have two different men who have two different views. One would take America down the course of becoming like Europe, big taxes, and big government." Chambliss, he said, "fundamentally believes in keeping America strong and safe and free."
In Minnesota, GOP incumbent Norm Coleman's 215-vote margin over Democrat Al Franken before an ongoing recount appears to be shrinking.
After two days of counting, results reported Thursday to the secretary of state put Coleman's lead at 129 votes. But there are almost 60 percent of 2.9 million ballots still to be reviewed, and there's a growing pile of disputed ballots between the two sides.
GLOBE STAFF
AND ASSOCIATED PRESS
Obamas' two daughters to attend private school
WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama and his wife have chosen Sidwell Friends School for their two daughters, opting for a private institution that another White House child, Chelsea Clinton, attended a decade ago.
Katie McCormick Lelyveld, a spokeswoman for Michelle Obama, said the Obamas "selected the school that was the best fit for what their daughters need right now."
She said Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, "bring with them a number of security and privacy concerns that come with being part of the new first family - and the school they've selected is positioned to appropriately accommodate that."
Sidwell is a private Quaker school with a campus in northwest Washington for grades 5 through 12 and another in suburban Bethesda, Md., for kindergarten through fourth grade. Malia is in fifth grade and Sasha is in second grade, suggesting that the girls would attend schools at different locations.
Michelle Obama and her daughters visited Sidwell and another elite private school, Georgetown Day, earlier this week. Lelyveld said that although public schools were considered, the Obamas felt that a private school was in the best interest of their children.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
President-elect pushes Chicago for 2016 Games
He may not still be president then, but Barack Obama yesterday stepped up his cheerleading for his hometown to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.
He appeared in a video message at a presentation to the European Olympic Committees, the Chicago Tribune reported. Obama, who if all goes as he hopes, would be winding up his second term in the White House when the games occur, told the gathering that Chicago and the United States would be honored to host the games "to reach out, welcome the world to our shores, and strengthen our friendships across the globe."
Obama could attend the Chicago bid committee's final presentation to the International Olympic Committee in October 2009. Chicago is up against Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo for the games. Atlanta was the last US host for the summer games, in 1996.
GLOBE STAFF
WASHINGTON - Verizon employees snuck a peek at Barack Obama's old cellphone records and have been put on leave with pay, the company said.
Obama aides said no voicemails or e-mails were accessed.
In a statement, Lowell McAdam, Verizon Wireless president and CEO, apologized to Obama and disclosed the breach, saying: "a number of Verizon Wireless employees have, without authorization, accessed and viewed President-elect Barack Obama's personal cellphone account." He said the account has been inactive for several months.
CNN reported last night that several employees had been fired.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
N.Y. school renamed after president-elect
NEW YORK - A New York school has already been renamed in honor of Barack Obama before he even takes office.
The former Ludlum Elementary School, in Long Island's Hempstead Union Free School District, was renamed at a school board meeting Thursday, effective immediately. The new name is the Barack Obama Elementary School.
ASSOCIATED PRESS 