Washington  - US President Barack Obama's first national budget outline mirrors an ambitious agenda he has been slowly detailing over his first month in office, and includes plans to tackle some of the thorniest issues in US politics.

The administration's 2010 budget and projections over the next 10 years, which was handed over to Congress on Thursday, largely reflected Obama's presidential campaign promises and many Democratic Party priorities.

Washington  - Malia and Sasha Obama can celebrate: their highly publicized longing for a dog, is set to be satisfied soon.

After a months-long search, First Lady Michelle Obama has chosen a Portuguese water dog to join the family in April, the US magazine people said Thursday.

President Barack Obama had first promised his daughters a pet during his election campaign, regardless of the outcome. The breed had been considered a possible pick because it is "hypoallergenic" and Malia suffers from allergies.

Washington, February 26 : U. S. President Barack Obama credited Stevie Wonder's music for earning him the love of First Lady Michelle, when he honoured the legendry singer with the Library of Congress Gershwin Award on Wednesday night.

"I think it's fair to say that had I not been a Stevie Wonder fan, Michelle might not have dated me. We might not have married. And the fact that we agreed on Stevie was a part of the essence of our courtship," Fox News quoted him as saying in a half-joking manner.

Washington, Feb. 26 : Over 52 million people watched President Obama’s first address to a joint session of Congress in prime time on Tuesday, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The TV audience, pegged at 52.4 million by Nielsen, does not include out-of-home or online viewers, the New York Times reports.

Nielsen said the address, which was broadcast roughly between 9 and 10:30 p. m., averaged a 49 share across 10 networks, which means that almost half of the people watching TV at the time were watching Obama’s speech.

London, February 26: U. S. President Barack Obama will be honouring multi-Grammy winning soul legend Stevie Wonder, 58, with the Library of Congress's 2nd annual Gershwin Prize for Popular Song at the White House.

Wonder receive the honour at a concert hosted by the President and his wife, Michelle. He will also give a performance at the concert.

Paul Simon, the only other recipient of the Gershwin Prize, is also set to give a performance.

Washington  - President Barack Obama met top congressional leaders and economic officials from his administration Wednesday to take the "critical first step" in overhauling a financial regulatory system that has shared blame for the devastating credit crisis.

Obama called for "serious oversight" of the country's biggest financial institutions in future but said there was no intention to stifle market activity.

He said legislation would be drawn up in the coming weeks and months to pull the US agencies out of a "20th century" regulatory structure and prevent another crisis of similar magnitude.