Washington, Dec. 8 : The US Supreme Court is expected to announce on Monday whether or not it will consider two cases contending that Barack Obama is not a "natural born citizen," as the president is required to be under Article II, Section 1 of the U. S. Constitution.

One case, referred to the court by Justice Clarence Thomas after Justice David Souter had rejected it, argues that because Obama''s father was a citizen of Kenya, at the time a British colony, the president-elect was born with dual citizenship.

Chicago, Dec. 8 : US President-elect Barack Obama has warned top executives of the Big Three auto companies to either agree to drastic reforms or be sacked.

“If this management team that’s currently in place doesn’t understand the urgency of the situation and is not willing to make the tough choices and adapt to these new circumstances, then they should go,” Politico quoted Obama as saying at a brief Sunday afternoon news conference here.

Washington, Dec 8 : US President-elect Barack Obama has revealed that he would like to “open up” the White House to artists, local children and scientists.

Obama spoke on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” held on December 7 about how he dreams of holding a science lecture series in the White House to inspire the youth, and he also outlined for the first time a way to showcase the “tapestry that is America.”

“We want to invite kids from local schools into the White House,” the Washington Times quoted him as saying.

Washington, Dec. 8 : US president-elect Barack Obama has called on both India and Pakistan to take steps to heal their divide over Kashmir following the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and also introduce appropriate measures to counter terrorism.

“If a country is attacked, it has the right to defend itself,” Obama told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, adding that so far the new civilian government in Pakistan “has sent the right signals”.

Chicago, Dec. 8: US President-elect Barack Obama has said that he expects the country’s economic performance to worsen before it improves, and has pledged to pursue a recovery plan “equal to the task ahead.”

Talking to Tom Brokaw on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Obama said that the current economic crisis looks nothing like the Great Depression.

“This is a big problem, and it’s going to get worse,” the New York Times quoted him, as saying.

Washington - US president-elect Barack Obama nominated retired general Eric Shinseki, former US Army chief of staff, to head the US Department of Veterans Affairs, in an announcement Sunday in Chicago.

Shinseki, 66, was Army chief of staff from 1999-2003.

He was forced into retirement shortly after publicly voicing his belief that the looming March 2003 invasion of Iraq would require far higher troop strength than planned, in sharp disagreement with then- defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld.