EARLYBIRD

Monday, December 15, 2008 8:30 AM

Top Transition News - 12/15

President-elect Obama said on Saturday that his choice for secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Shaun Donovan, will bring "fresh thinking" to the department, which Obama said would play a key role in tackling the mortgage crisis and helping families stay in their homes. (Los Angeles Times)

Since Donovan is a New Yorker, the diversity in Obama's Cabinet still doesn't include one group: Southerners. (Politico)

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been thrust into the tight rope act of serving two presidents at once. (New York Times)

Obama has tried to limit the influence of influence peddlers on his transition and Cabinet, but the spouses of several of his new lieutenants are notable lobbyists. (New York Times)

Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had discussions with aides to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) about Obama's soon-to-be vacated Senate seat in the days after the election. (Wall Street Journal)

Obama is telegraphing his priorities with the different "czar" positions he is creating, from energy and urban affairs to the economy and health care. (Wall Street Journal)

With the agency facing budget cuts and some tense moments already occurring with the Obama administration, NASA's future continues to be cloudy. (Washington Post)

The relentless Obama-Abraham Lincoln comparisons are rubbing some historians the wrong way. (Politico)

Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Tom Daschle wants to avoid Hillary Rodham Clinton's 1993 health care debacle by "moving decisively to seize political momentum and, if necessary, cut off opposition." (Los Angeles Times)

Special interest groups are already lining up, hat in hand, for Obama's economic stimulus package. (Boston Globe)

Green Revolution

Global warming is now "the equivalent of a five-alarm fire that has to be addressed immediately" for Obama, not the slow-moving and easily ignored problem it was under President Clinton. (AP)

Obama is expected to announce his Energy secretary, Environmental Protection Agency chief and "climate czar" today. (Agence France-Presse)

Lisa Jackson, Obama's expected pick for EPA chief, is already taking heat for her record in managing New Jersey Superfund sites. (ProPublica)

Inauguration Conflagration

Donating $50,000 to the Presidential Inauguration Committee appears to be the surest way to get tickets to balls, breakfasts and the swearing-in ceremony. (Washington Post)

Hollywood A-listers have been a key donor bloc for Obama's transition committee. (The Hill)

Amid a recession, inaugural ball planners want to be festive on Jan. 20 without being over-the-top. (Los Angeles Times)

D.C.'s roads and trains are not prepared to meet even half the expected number of inauguration attendees, transportation experts say. (Washington Post)

Obama will travel to D.C. by train for his inauguration. (AP)