Washington  -  President-elect Barack Obama on Monday began work with congressional leaders to hammer out a stimulus package designed to jump start the ailing US economy.

Speaking with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on Monday morning ahead of the closed door meeting, Obama stressed that it was important to get to work on the plan before he takes office January 20.

"Obviously, the inauguration stand is being built in the background, but the reason we're here today is because the people's business can't wait," said Obama, who Sunday moved to Washington to allow his daughters to begin school on Monday. "We've got an extraordinary economic challenge ahead of us."

New York, Jan 5 : Film director Gus Van Sant says that Barack Obama's historic victory in the 2008 U. S. presidential election could lead him into becoming a boring filmmaker.

Van Sant, 56, who had directed `Milk', said that with a Democratic administration coming to power, the artistic adventure had been cut down.

"Art tends to get quite good when the regime is oppressive. The films I''ve made under friendlier leaders, like Clinton, have become less challenging," the New York Post quoted him as telling The Times of London.

"With Bush in the White House, my films got darker and more extreme.

Chicago/Washington, Jan. 5: A sentimental Barack Obama says he was choked with emotion as he locked up his Chicago home and arrived in Washington D. C. on Sunday night to have himself inaugurated as the United States' 44th President on January 20.

Washington  - Barack Obama may not become president until January 20, but starting Sunday the president-elect and his family are at home in Washington.

Obama on Sunday joined his wife, Michelle, and daughters, Malia and Sasha, at the luxurious Hay-Adams Hotel just steps from the White House. He arrived Sunday evening from Chicago at Andrews Air Force Base just outside the capital aboard a government jet, like those used by presidents.

London, Jan 3 : Six out of 10 US servicemen are uncertain or pessimistic about President-elect Barack Obama becoming their Commander-in-Chief.

The findings of a survey for the Military Times indicate that Obama, who never served in the military, has some work to do to win the esteem of servicemen and women, who regularly give President George W. Bush a rousing welcome.

When asked who has their best interests at heart, a higher percentage of respondents picked Bush than Obama, though the outgoing president has lost ground over time, The Telegraph reports.

About half of the respondents said that Bush had their best interests at heart this year, the same percentage as last year, but a decline from 69 per cent in 2004.

Washington, Jan 3: American rapper Diddy's representatives have denied claims that he wanted to attend President-elect Barack Obama''s swearing-in ceremony by using his celebrity status and not by paying for a ticket.

A New York Post report recently said that unlike other fellow Hollywood types, who had donated 50,000 dollars to the inauguration committee to help cover some of the costs of the celebration, Diddy wanted a free pass.

"The story is ridiculous and untrue," E! Online quoted Diddy's publicist Keesha Johnson as saying.