Chicago, January 15 : While Barack Obama and his family are struggling to decide which dog to own, a dog breeder is advising them to wait for a while.

The U. S. President-elect recently revealed that his family would either own a Labradoodle or a Portuguese water dog.

His statement led to a debate whether the Obamas are ready for a new dog amid all the changes in their lives.

Dog breeders say that if the family chooses a Portuguese water dog, the animal will demand attention.

Washington, Jan. 15 : In an article for the Washington Post, noted journalist Bob Woodward says that there is actually a lot that President-elect Barack Obama can learn from the troubled presidency of George W. Bush.

Having written four books on Bush, totaling 1,727 pages, Woodward says that there are actually ten lessons that Obama can take from his predecessor's eight-year-long presidency.

1. Presidents set the tone. Don''t be passive or tolerate virulent divisions.

Washington, Jan 15 : U. S. President-elect Barack Obama has hired the same interior designer as American actors Cindy Crawford and Steven Spielberg to decorate the White House rooms.

Michael S. Smith, from California, has been working on 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha''s bedrooms, and his vision is to make the rooms more kid-friendly.

Washington, Jan. 15 : Unlike recent White House occupants -- George W. Bush and Bill Clinton - Barack Obama has yet to provide The Times with the sort of free-wheeling, pre-Inauguration interview the paper has come to expect. And, there''s little expectation it will happen before Tuesday.

"We would certainly like it to happen," said Times political editor Dick Stevenson, "but the days are running short at this point."

New York, Jan 15 : President-elect Barack Obama has caused quite a stir ever since he got elected, and now his official presidential portrait has captured the attention of critics, who have given their verdict on it.

The picture, which had been taken by newly appointed White House photographer Pete Souza, using a digital camera, shows the incoming commander-in-chief wearing a navy suit, light blue shirt and striped tie, with an American flag pin on his left lapel.

Washington, Jan. 15 : Incoming US President Barack Obama has said that as far as Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is concerned, his administration's policy will be to marginalize his influence, and not necessarily seek to capture or kill him.