Surprise! "The American health care system is broken" is the message emanating from more than 4,200 house parties organized to advise President-elect Barack Obama on how to reform the system. (New York Times)
The Pentagon and security officials are already prepping Obama's transition team with a flood of information about the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan. (Los Angeles Times)
Obama is set to release an internal report at 4:30 p.m. today that is expected to say his team had no inappropriate contact with embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. (New York Times)
Obama will be sworn in on the same Bible as Abraham Lincoln, adding yet another wrinkle to the parallels between the 16th and 44th presidents. (New York Times)
Al Franken is nursing a slim lead over Sen. Norm Coleman in the Minnesota Senate race recount. A Franken victory would move Senate Democrats one step closer to the magic 60-vote mark and perhaps even more leeway in pushing through their legislative agenda. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
Could incoming Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's book The Plan: Big Ideas for America, which proposes a 10 percent flat tax for the middle class and universal public service for 18- to 25-year-olds, influence White House thinking in the next four years? (Washington Times)
D.C. residents hope Obama will be more involved in rejuvenating the city than the White House's current occupant, who locals complain treated the city like "a photo op." (Washington Post)
Obama has tapped Elizabeth Sears Smith for deputy Cabinet secretary and Cassandra Butts as his deputy White House counsel. (Roll Call -- subscription)
Photos of a shirtless president-elect on a Hawaiian beach -- snapped by a Los Angeles-based paparazzo -- have taken the Internet by storm. (Politico)
New Yorkers aren't yet sold on Caroline Kennedy as a Senate replacement for Hillary Rodham Clinton. (NationalJournal.com)
Obama's "green dream team" is gearing up to push climate change legislation, with one environmental advocate arguing that "if this team can't advance strong national policy on global warming, then no one can." (Reuters)
Cashing In And Cashing Out
A T-shirt featuring a "Chicago-style" Obama in a pimp hat is raising eyebrows on the D.C. street vendor circuit. (Washington Post)
Hawaiians are cashing in on the president-elect's brand, from Obama bus tours to Obama ice cream. (Politico)
Clinton has formally written off the $13 million she lent her failed presidential campaign. (New York Times)
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