DC Churches Woo Obamas

St. John's, across from White House, also where family worshiped on Inauguration Day

(AP) - President Barack Obama and his family celebrated Easter today at St. John's Episcopal Church, across from the White House. The Obamas left the White House at midmorning for services. St. John's is popular with presidents—it's where President George W. Bush often attended services. Obama hasn't attended public church services in Washington since taking office, but attended a traditional service at St. Johns on Inauguration Day. More»

First family to settle into Hay Adams this weekend so girls can start school Monday

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama, who has mostly avoided the capital since the election, will move his family into a hotel suite this weekend, aides tell the New York Times. The girls will start school Monday and Obama will begin working with the new Congress on his stimulus package. While the Times didn't disclose the mystery hotel, MSNBC reports that it's the Hay Adams, which advertises itself as "as close as you can get to staying at the White House without a personal invitation from the president." More»

President-elect told he can't move into official guest house early

(NEWSER) - Washington's hotels are booked solid for January and the Obamas have joined those struggling to find a place to stay, the New York Times reports. The president-elect and his wife had hoped to move into Blair House, the official White House guest house, in time for the girls to start their new school Jan. 5. But the Bush administration has told them it won't be available until January 15—just 5 days before the inauguration. More»

Special interest groups want to pick Obamas' puppy, church, chef

(NEWSER) - With the incoming first family's private decisions being scrutinized as breathlessly as the president-elect's cabinet picks, you already know about the battle over the puppy, and the private-or-public-school competition. New York reports on three other hotly contested issues:

• The French-trained chef hired by Laura Bush may be replaced to reflect the incoming multiculturalism, but by whom? On the short list are Oprah's former chef and that of the Denver Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony.

(AP) - President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, have arrived at the White House for a visit, his first since last week's landslide election victory. President Bush and first lady Laura Bush were at the North Portico of the White House to greet the Obamas on a sunny fall day with moderate temperatures and colorful but fading autumn leaves. More»