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Sex scandal school head off sick with stress

The head of a school where at least three teachers have had affairs with pupils has gone on sick leave after another member of staff was sacked.

Economic rescue plan main priority as new chief of staff named

Barack Obama is to visit the White House on Monday for the first time since he won the election to discuss an orderly handover of power with President George Bush. Obama's main priority is to get his people into the treasury as rapidly as possible to work on an economic rescue plan. He is to meet his economics team today in Chicago and will give a press conference afterwards, his first as president-elect.Yesterday he announced his first White House appointment, Illinois congressman Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff. Emanuel, a long-time Washington operative with a quick temper, will control access to the president, act as a listening-board and adviser, and help to ensure a friendly relationship with Congress.The appointment came amid mounting speculation over who would receive the top cabinet posts. One of Obama's closest advisers, Tim Kaine, the governor of Virginia, hinted yesterday that the president-elect would demonstrate his intention to govern from the centre by appointing Republicans to senior positions.Bush, after meeting his cabinet to discuss the transition to an Obama presidency, spoke to about 1,000 staff on the White House lawn yesterday, thanking them for their work and instructing them to cooperate fully with the incoming administration. "For the next 75 days, all of us must ensure that the next president and his team can hit the ground running," Bush said. "Ensuring that this transition is as smooth as possible is a priority for the rest of my presidency ... We face economic challenges that will not pause to let a new president settle in."Obama, who will formally take over on January 20, is keen to have an economic stimulus package he has proposed passed by Congress and in place by the time he enters the Oval Office as president. It is almost certain too that he will be involved when the heads of government from leading industrial countries meet in Washington next Saturday to agree on action to soften the impact of the impending worldwide recession.Although Bush called the meeting, foreign leaders will inevitably be seeking the views of the president they will be dealing with from January 20. Henry Paulson, the treasury secretary, in a brief statement, promised to work closely with Obama's team. "A methodical and orderly transition is in the best interests of the financial markets," he said. The treasury is rolling out a $700bn rescue package for the economy, but Obama is keen to do more.Another White House appointment likely to be made soon is that of the man who will become the public face of the administration, Robert Gibbs, who joined Obama's campaign early on as his communications director.After today's press conference, Obama is to impose a news blackout at the weekend, with no more appointments announced, mainly so he and his staff can get some rest. He appeared frequently drained at stages of the 21-month campaign, stumbling over statistics and well-worn stump speeches in the final days before the election. Since he embarked on his quest for the presidency in February last year, he has taken two holidays, a long weekend with his family in the Caribbean and a short break in Hawaii. He is to return to Hawaii, where he grew up, for a holiday next month.In an interview with Newsweek, given before the election on condition it would not appear until afterwards, Michelle Obama spoke in detail about the White House move, saying she would only be happy when the family had settled in.In the interview, published yesterday, she said her main concern would be the personal upheaval involved in a White House move, such as whether she could persuade her mother to move from Chicago to the White House, and which bedrooms their two daughters would occupy.She said: "Like any new thing, it feels a bit daunting until you have your plan. What I do know is that once the pieces start coming together, I think that's when the excitement can begin. When the girls know what school they're going to be in, they'll have a sense of how that's going to feel, and they'll know what their rooms look like."She will accompany her husband when he visits the White House on Monday and is expected to talk to Laura Bush.She praised the Clintons for providing a degree of normality for their daughter, Chelsea, and said she would speak to other first ladies. "Republicans and Democrats alike, because there are just so few families who have experienced this. If I can talk to all of them, I will," she said. ProfileThe legend of Rahm Emanuel, the man appointed as Barack Obama's chief of staff, begins with a missing finger and a dead fish.Washington buzz has long had it that Emanuel, 48, lost half a finger on his right hand to a bomb while serving in the Israeli army. Emanuel is also said to have mailed a smelly dead fish to a campaign pollster who upset him.The bomb anecdote is untrue: Emanuel, the third-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, severed a finger in a childhood meat-slicing accident. The rotting fish tale has never been confirmed. But those colourful stories are a vital part of the take-no-prisoners image Emanuel has crafted for himself during more than 20 years in politics. And his volunteer service in Israel during the 1990s Gulf war is no fiction, with the Jewish press hailing Emanuel's ascension as a sign that Israel will have its own man in the Obama White House. Even Emanuel's critics admit that his political savvy and policy expertise make him a natural partner for Obama. Like the president-elect, Emanuel is a Chicago native with a strong connection to the city's political elite. Both have inspired characters on the television series The West Wing, with Emanuel providing the model for wunderkind aide Josh Lyman.Emanuel was among the earliest converts to Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992, serving as a senior fundraiser and strategist. His trademark, even then, was a brash style that often involved raised voices and profanity but also got difficult jobs done.When Tony Blair appeared with Clinton at the height of the Lewinsky sex scandal in 1998, Emanuel is reported to have warned the prime minister: "Don't fuck it up."Emanuel has mellowed somewhat since his election to an Illinois congressional seat six years ago. He masterminded the Democratic takeover of the House in 2006 and was elected party chairman by his grateful colleagues. Elana SchorUS elections 2008Barack Obamaguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

US oil officials in sex scandal

US officials responsible for collecting revenue from oil companies are accused of "ethical failure".

Obama strumpet-sex scandal ruse spreads malware

Election-related campaign kicks off False claims that presidential candidate Barack Obama is a sex tourist are being used to trick users into getting infected by malware.?

Detroit Mayor Kilpatrick Enters Plea Deal; Will Resign, Serve 4 Months In Prison (AHN)

(AHN) - Detroit's Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick agreed on Thursday morning to step down and entered a guilty plea to a pair of felony obstruction of justice charges in a sex scandal. - Thu, 4 Sep 2008 11:25:24 GMT