President-elect Barack Obama announced as expected that Hillary Clinton would be his top diplomat and Robert Gates would stay on as defense secretary.

President-elect Barack Obama on Monday officially introduced the members of his national security team, including former Democratic primary rival Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state and Robert Gates, who will be remain as defense secretary.

Obama also announced that retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones — a former top commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Europe — would be his national security adviser.

President-elect Obama stands with Secretary of State-designate Sen. Hillary Clinton -- calling her nomination 'a sign to friend and foe.'

“I am confident that this is the team that we need to make a new beginning for American national security,” Obama told reporters during a morning news conference in Chicago.

Obama’s team will advise him on foreign and national security issues in an era marked by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and terrorism around the globe. Obama takes office Jan. 20.

Obama said his team “must pursue a new strategy that skillfully uses, balances, and integrates all elements of American power: our military and diplomacy, our intelligence and law enforcement, our economy and the power of our moral example.

“The team that we have assembled here today is uniquely suited to do just that,” he added as his Cabinet picks stood behind him on a flag-draped stage. “They share my pragmatism about the use of power, and my sense of purpose about America’s role as a leader in the world.”

Obama named Washington lawyer Eric Holder as attorney general and Arizona Gov. Janet Naploitano as homeland security chief. He also named two senior foreign policy positions outside the Cabinet, including campaign foreign policy adviser Susan Rice as U.N. ambassador.

Obama introduced Clinton first, saying of his former presidential rival, “She possesses an extraordinary intelligence and toughness, and a remarkable work ethic. … She is an American of tremendous stature who will have my complete confidence, who knows many of the world’s leaders, who will command respect in every capital, and who will clearly have the ability to advance our interests around the world.”

Clinton will give up her seat as a senator from New York to join the Obama Cabinet. Her appointment was preceded by lengthy negotiations involving her husband, the former president, whose international business connections posed potential conflicts of interest.

The former president also agreed to disclose the donors to the foundation that built his library, as well as contributors to his international foundation.

She said to Obama, in brief turn at the lectern, “Mr. President-Elect, I am proud to join you on what will be a difficult and exciting adventure in this new century.”

Sen. Clinton had scarcely finished speaking when her husband issued a written statement.

“She is the right person for the job of helping to restore America’s image abroad, end the war in Iraq, advance peace and increase our security, by building a future for our children with more partners and fewer adversaries, one of shared responsibilities and opportunities,” he said.

Gates said he was “mindful that we are engaged in two wars and face other serious challenges at home and around the world.”

“I must do my duty as they do theirs,” he said of the men and women in uniform in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. “How could I do otherwise?”

He said he was “honored to serve President-elect Obama.”

Gates’ appointment fulfilled a campaign promise by Obama, the naming of a Republican to his Cabinet.

Obama said Napolitano understands the need to protect against terror attacks and to respond to natural disasters — and that she also understands as well as anyone the danger of unsecured borders.

Obama now has half of the 15-member Cabinet assembled less than a month after the election, including the most prominent positions at State, Justice, Treasury and Defense.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Read more at http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/01/obama-unveils-national-security-team/

Erik Berte
FOXBusiness

Hungry? Just pick up your remote.

Domino’s Pizza (DPZ) and TiVo (TIVO) have teamed up to let subscribers order pies right from their televisions.

Launched Monday, this new free service for TiVo subscribers with a broadband Internet connection lets users order pizza and even track delivery timing all from their remote.

“This is the first step in the future of customer interactions with the brands they seek to engage with and buy from. This is the first time in history that the ‘on-demand’ generation will be able to fully experience couch commerce by ordering pizza directly through their television set. You’ll see a television ad for Domino’s and you’ll click ‘I want it’ through your remote. In about 30 minutes, your pizza will show up at your door,” said VP of precision and print marketing at Domino’s Rob Weisberg.

Think it might be hard to type in your address on that tiny remote? Subscribers also have the option to go to Dominos.com and register for an account for a login they can just enter instead.

And for those feeling too much like a couch potato, there’s also an option for in-store pickup.

TiVo has other interactive features as well, including the ability to shop Amazon.com (AMZN), said Bressner, or look up movie listings and order the tickets on Fandango.

This is not the first landline-ordering alternative for Domino’s Pizza, which also allows customers to order pies over the web or from their cell phones.

Pizza Hut, one of Domino’s competitors, also allows online and mobile ordering of pizza, but takes it a step further with text-message ordering. Pizza Hut is owned by Yum Brands (YUM).

TiVo is a digital video recording service that lets subscribers tape their favorite shows and pause live TV.

Domino’s Pizza is a pizza store chain with over 8,700 franchised and company-owned locations.

Read more at http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/retail/dominos-tivo-partner-pioneer-couch-commerce/

FOX News’ Greta Van Susteren went to Alaska to get Gov. Sarah Palin’s reflections on the presidential election.

After a whirlwind campaign alongside Sen. John McCain, Sarah Palin is defending herself against criticism stemming from the tens of thousands of dollars spent on her wardrobe as well as several reported foreign affairs missteps.

Nov. 9: FOX News

“When I arrived at the convention, there were clothes waiting for me, and clothes being ordered for me and the family, for eight of us,” the Alaska governor told FOX News’ Greta Van Susteren, in an interview that aired Monday night. “And ever since then, those clothes, knowing that they didn’t belong to me … we boxed them all up, sent them back to the rightful owners, the Republican National Committee, and that’s the story on the clothes.” 

Attorneys for the Republican National Committee are still trying to determine exactly what clothing was bought for Palin and exactly what has been returned, The Associated Press reports.

Palin dismissed the controversy over the reported $150,000 bill as “irrelevant,” along with claims from Republican aides that she could not identify the members of NAFTA or that she thought Africa was a country — and not a continent.

“It just seems like such an irrelevant issue when you consider what is going on in the world today and how a new administration is being ushered in and people being concerned about the direction of the nation and policies that will be adopted,” Palin said. “Clothes just seem irrelevant.”

Palin continued, “I just think that there was unfair criticism that maybe lingers today, that my family and I asked for anybody to pay for any our clothes.”

Regarding the reported Africa gaffe, Palin said, “And never, ever did I talk about, well, gee, is it a country or is it a continent? I just don’t know about this issue. So I don’t know how they took our one discussion on Africa and turned that into what they turned it into … Along those same lines, of course, was the criticism that supposedly I didn’t know who the participants in NAFTA were.”

Amid speculation nationwide about Palin’s political future, the governor told FOX News that she’s unsure of what 2012 will bring, but added that she doesn’t intend on running away from future criticism.

“Your life is an open book and you open yourself up to criticism and you’d better be ready to take that criticism,” Palin said. “In other words, don’t run for office if you can’t handle it.”
Palin, who could seek re-election in 2010 or potentially run for president in four years, said she will rely on faith.

“Putting my life in my creator’s hands — this is what I always do,” she said. “I’m like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I’m like, don’t let me miss the open door … And if there is an open door in ‘12 or four years later, and if it is something that is going to be good for my family, for my state, for my nation, an opportunity for me, then I’ll plow through that door.”

Palin’s father, Chuck Heath, told the Associated Press that Palin spent part of the weekend going through her clothing to determine what belongs to the Republican Party.

“She was just frantically … trying to sort stuff out,” Heath told AP. “That’s the problem, you know, the kids lose underwear, and everything has to be accounted for. Nothing goes right back to normal.”

Palin’s father said his daughter told him the only clothing or accessories she personally had purchased in the past four months was a pair of shoes.

The McCain-Palin campaign said last week that about a third of the clothing was returned immediately because it was the wrong size, or for other reasons. However, other purchases apparently were made after that, a campaign official told AP.

In Wasilla, her hometown backers welcomed their former mayor, putting aside their disappointment over her unsuccessful bid.

Jessica Steele, proprietor of the Beehive Beauty Shop and keeper of the governor’s up-do since 2002, cannot wait to see what Palin does next move.

“That’s something I want to talk to her about: What’s our vision for her hair?” Steele told AP. “I can’t wait to see her and say, ‘OK, I’ve got you alone for three hours. Just relax, and how are you, really?”‘

While Palin remains popular, the reality of defeat is evident.

Bags of fan mail, as many as 400 letters a day, partially fill a room at her parent’s house. But Palin’s parents no longer meet Secret Service agents when they pick up their children at Cottonwood Creek Elementary, where Palin’s youngest daughter, Piper, is a student. The reporters and camera crews are gone from the Palin home on Lake Lucille, once patrolled by Coast Guard boats. Now a thick sheet of ice covers the lake.

Four state troopers still guard the governor 24 hours a day, Heath told AP — something Palin never had before.

And in a bit of familiarity, Heath said he brought a pot of moose chili to Palin’s house this past weekend.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More at http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/11/10/sarah-palin-defends-criticism-post-election-interview/

John McCain congratulates Barack Obama on his “historic” election as president of “the greatest nation on Earth.”
Wednesday, November 5, 2008

PHOENIX (Reuters) – Republican John McCain congratulated Democrat Barack Obama for winning the U.S. presidency on Tuesday, saying “the American people have spoken” and promising to help his former rival address the country’s many challenges.

Class Act - John McCain

McCain addressed his supporters in an emotional speech at a Phoenix hotel after telephoning Obama to concede the election. Obama later said McCain’s call had been “extraordinarily gracious.”

“We have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly,” McCain said.

“Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it.”

The 72-year-old Arizona senator urged all Americans — including his supporters — to rally behind Obama, saying he planned to help the new president-elect tackle the myriad issues the country faced.

“It’s natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again,” McCain told his supporters, shushing them occasionally with “please, please” when they booed his mentions of Obama.

Many McCain supporters said expected Obama to raise their taxes and expose the country to terrorist attack.

“As far as I’m concerned, Obama’s going to take away all my rights and my freedom,” said college student Kristen Keogh.

McCain spoke to a crowd of a few thousand on the hotel’s lawn, on a stage framed by spotlights and palm trees.

Several people in the affluent crowd said voters had been seduced by Obama’s promise of change, rather than considering a candidate who had a long record of independence.

“People got wrapped up in charisma, they got wrapped up in an ideal as opposed to reality,” said podiatrist Tanya Pfitzer.

“HE HAS PREVAILED”

McCain and Obama clashed over the Iraq war, taxes, trade, and energy policy during a heated, five-month general election campaign, but the Arizona senator pledged his support as the next president navigates a major financial crisis and two wars abroad.

“Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed,” McCain said, adding many of those differences remained. “These are difficult times for our country, and I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.”

McCain was joined by his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who did not speak.

McCain praised her as a vital new voice: “We can all look forward with great interest to her future service to Alaska, the Republican Party and our country.”

After a campaign that grew negative at times, most recently with Republican attacks on Obama’s ties to a 1960s radical, McCain emphasized common ground between the two men.

“Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans, and please believe me when I say no association has meant more to me than that.”

McCain expressed sympathy over the death of Obama’s grandmother just before Election Day, saying he was sorry she had not lived to see her grandson’s victory.

He also acknowledged the historic nature of Obama’s win.

“This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight,” he said.

McCain thanked his campaign staff and family for their support in his nearly two-year White House quest.

“Campaigns are often harder on a candidate’s family than on the candidate, and that’s been true in this campaign,” he said. “All I can offer in compensation is my love and gratitude and the promise of more peaceful years ahead.”

Photo Copyright Getty Images

The Illinois senator’s aunt has been residing in Boston public housing since her request for asylum was denied four years ago.

Barack Obama said Saturday he was unaware that one of his relatives from Kenya was living in the United States illegally and added that believes the appropriate laws should be followed.

The Associated Press reported Friday that Obama’s aunt had been instructed to leave the country four years ago by an immigration judge who rejected her request for asylum from her native Kenya.

The woman, Zeituni Onyango is living in public housing in Boston and is the half-sister of Obama’s late father .

“Senator Obama has no knowledge of her status but obviously believes that any and all appropriate laws be followed,” the Obama campaign said in a written statement given to FOX News.

The campaign said it was returning $260 that Onyango had contributed in small increments to Obama’s presidential bid over several months. Federal election law prohibits foreigners from making political donations. Onyango listed her employer as the Boston Housing Authority and last gave $5 on Sept. 19.

Onyango, 56, is part of Obama’s large paternal family, with many related to him by blood whom he never knew growing up.

Obama’s father, Barack Obama Sr., left the future presidential nominee when the boy was 2, and they reunited only once — for a monthlong visit when Obama was 10. The elder Obama lived most of his life in Kenya, where he fathered seven other children with three other wives. He died in a car crash in 1982.

Obama was raised for the most part by his mother and her parents in Hawaii. He first met his father’s side of the family when he traveled to Africa 20 years ago. He referred to Onyango as “Auntie Zeituni” when describing the trip in his memoir, saying she was “a proud woman.”

Obama’s campaign said he had seen her a few times since that meeting, beginning with a return trip to Kenya with his future wife, Michelle, in 1992. Onyango visited the family in Chicago on a tourist visa at Obama’s invitation about nine years ago, the campaign said, stopping to visit friends on the East Coast before returning to Kenya.

She attended Obama’s swearing-in to the U.S. Senate in 2004, but campaign officials said Obama provided no assistance in getting her a tourist visa and doesn’t know the details of her stay. The campaign said he last heard from her about two years ago when she called saying she was in Boston, but he did not see her there.

Onyango moved into public housing a year before her request for asylum was rejected, a spokeswoman for the Boston Housing Authority told FOXNews.com.

“If there was a deportation order, we wouldn’t have known about it,” spokeswoman Lydia Agro said, explaining that there is no mechanism in place for her agency to get that information.

“We were unaware of her status until this morning,” Agro said.

Click here for photos.

Two separate sources, including a federal law enforcement official, disclosed and confirmed information to the AP about the deportation case. The information they made available is known to officials in the federal government, but the AP could not establish whether anyone at a political level in the Bush administration or in the McCain campaign had been involved in its release.

Onyango’s refusal to leave the country would represent an administrative, non-criminal violation of U.S. immigration law, meaning such cases are handled outside the criminal court system. Estimates vary, but many experts believe there are more than 10 million such immigrants in the United States.

The AP could not reach Onyango immediately for comment. No one answered the telephone number listed in her name late Friday. It was unclear why her request for asylum was rejected in 2004.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Kelly Nantel, told the AP the government does not comment on an individual’s citizenship status or immigration case.

Onyango’s case — coming to light just days before the presidential election — led to an unusual nationwide directive within Immigrations and Customs Enforcement requiring any deportations prior to Tuesday’s election to be approved at least at the level of ICE regional directors, the U.S. law enforcement official told the AP.

The unusual directive suggests that the Bush administration is sensitive to the political implications of Onyango’s case coming to light so close to the election.

One of the sources acknowledged he was not a supporter of Obama or John McCain and said he has no plans to vote on Tuesday. He said that was not a motive for releasing the information.

Kenya is in eastern Africa between Somalia and Tanzania. The country has been fractured in violence in recent years, including a period of two months of bloodshed after December 2007 that killed 1,500 people.

Obama Aunt Found Living in Boston Public Housing

The Associated Press contributed to this report.