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Obama will meet with military commanders Wednesday on Iraq.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Incoming President Barack Obama is planning to meet with top military leaders on Wednesday to discuss the war in Iraq and move to begin implementing his campaign promise of removing all combat troops within 16 months, according to two transition officials familiar with the matter.

The meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other top military commanders is to be held on Obama's first full day in office, which suggests the president-elect wants to signal supporters that, despite his heavy focus on the financial crisis, he will address Iraq early in the new administration.

In an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" shortly after his election victory, Obama said he would move quickly to begin withdrawing troops.

"Well, I've said during the campaign, and I've stuck to this commitment, that as soon as I take office, I will call in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, my national security apparatus, and we will start executing a plan that draws down our troops," Obama said. "Particularly in light of the problems that we're having in Afghanistan, which has continued to worsen. We've got to shore up those efforts."

The Obamas went to a Washington, DC church Sunday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) –- President-elect Barack Obama and his family attended services at a historic Washington church Sunday morning, but his transition office said no final decision has been made on the family’s congregation in their new home town.

Obama went to the 19th Street Baptist Church Sunday morning with wife Michelle, daughters Sasha and Malia, and his mother-in-law Marian Robinson. The family, which received a standing ovation from the congregation as they came in, sat in the second row, with Obama himself sitting on the aisle.

A pool reporter inside the church said Obama sang along during the hymn “Blessed Assurance” near the beginning of the service. A pastor ended a prayer with a theme of the Obama campaign, adding “yes we can” to “in the name of Jesus we pray, amen.”

The sermon was partially directed at Obama, two days before he takes office. Entitled “For Such a Time as This,” it included a message about God preparing people for the challenges they face.

Pastor Derrick Harkins said, “While I am tasked with preaching to everyone who is here, let me step to the side with you Mr. President-elect, for just a moment…Perhaps, just perhaps, you are where you are for such a time as this.”

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Thousands gather Sunday afternoon on the National Mall in Washington.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Inauguration revelry began Sunday afternoon as thousands gathered on the National Mall in Washington for a free concert featuring big stars.

President-elect Barack Obama spoke at the concert, just after 4 p.m.

"The dream of our founders will live on in our time. ... What gives me hope is what I see when I look out across this mall," he said.

Obama spent the morning visiting Arlington National Cemetery and attending church before heading to the "We are One: Opening Inaugural Celebration" at the Lincoln Memorial. It was nothing but good vibes - a brief respite for an incoming president who will face some big problems after he takes office Tuesday.

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Just days before Barack Obama moves into his new home, his portrait did the same: workers installed artist Shepard Fairey's ubiquitous painting of the president-elect in the National Portrait Gallery Saturday.

Obama's official portrait, by incoming White House photographer Pete Souza, was released last week.

Obama and Biden visited Arlington National Cemetery Sunday.

(CNN) - On his first full day back in Washington, President-elect Barack Obama visited Arlington National Cemetery on Sunday, where he took part in a ceremony alongside Vice President-elect Joe Biden.

Watch Obama, Biden visit war dead

The two - along with their families and a huge crowd - will attend a celebratory concert Sunday afternoon at the Lincoln Memorial.

It's all part of the drum-up to Tuesday, when Obama will be inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States.

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a New poll suggests Americans overwhelmingly approve of Obama's transition performance.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A new national poll suggests that Barack Obama is more popular than ever, regardless of recent speed bumps on the road to transition.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Sunday morning also indicates that most Americans see Obama's inauguration as a chance for the nation to come together.

Eighty-four percent of those questioned in the survey say they approve of how Barack Obama is handling his presidential transition. That is up two points from the middle of December and up five points from the beginning of December.

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President-elect Barack Obama waves to supporters in Baltimore, Maryland, on Saturday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A new national poll indicates that nearly six in 10 Americans support an increase in spending to pump up the economy, and even higher levels of support for a plan that also involves tax cuts.

Fifty-eight percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Sunday say they favor increased government spending to stimulate the economy, which has been in recession for more than a year.

Four in 10 of those polled oppose increased spending of taxpayer dollars.

Support for the stimulus plan jumps 13 points to 71 percent when tax cuts for individuals and businesses are added to the package, and opposition drops 12 points to 28 percent.

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(CNN) - Incoming White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement that President-elect Obama and US Airways Captain Chelsy Sullenberger had a five-minute phone call Friday:

"At 6:45 PM, President-elect Obama spoke with Capt. Chesley Sullenberger III, the pilot of US Airways flight 1549," wrote Gibbs.

"The President-elect told Capt. Sullenberger how proud everyone was for the heroic and graceful job he had done in landing the damaged aircraft yesterday.

"The President-elect also thanked his crew and the many people on the scene in New York for ensuring the safety of everyone on board the plane."

(CNN) - Fiscal conservative Democrats in the House are already lobbying President-elect Obama to stop the practice of using emergency supplemental bills to pay for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to start including costs in annual budget.

(A letter from the congressional Blue Dog coalition sent to the president-elect yesterday after the jump)

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(CNNMoney.com) – Never mind Joe the Plumber; meet John the Manufacturer. That's what President-elect Barack Obama will be doing Friday, when he stops in Ohio to pitch his $825 billion economic recovery and job creation package.

While in Bedford Heights, Ohio, Obama will be touring the Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Company, a local manufacturing company that supplies steel screws, washers and bolts to industries such as construction and mining. The company is a carefully chosen poster child for Obama's stimulus plans: While so many manufacturers struggle with slowing sales, Cardinal Fastener is growing and adding staff, thanks to its focus on the green energy industry.

"People call it the next automotive industry for the United States," said John Grabner, 56, president and owner of Cardinal.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) - Trying to show a little bipartisanship, President-elect Barack Obama had an off-the-record meeting Wednesday with liberal commentators and columnists, the morning after a dinner with conservative writers at the home of columnist George F. Will.

Two sources close to the transition say Obama met Wednesday morning at his transition headquarters here with left-leaning writers like Maureen Dowd and Frank Rich of The New York Times, E.J. Dionne and Gene Robinson of The Washington Post, and MSNBC talk show host Rachel Maddow.

More moderate attendees included columnists Gerald Seib of The Wall Street Journal and Ronald Brownstein of National Journal magazine.

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President-elect Obama is set to return to Ohio where he held a campaign rally just days before the election in November.

(CNN) – The day before he kicks off a four-day marathon of Inauguration-related events in the nation’s capital, President-elect Barack Obama will head to Ohio to tout his economic recovery plan.

Friday, Obama will travel to Bedford Heights, Ohio to tour Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Company, a company that uses only American made items to manufacture parts used to construct wind turbines. He will meet with workers on the factory floor to discuss his economic stimulus proposals, officially known as the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan."

Obama has said his economic stimulus plan aims to save or create three to four million American jobs overall. His plan would also try to create a half million jobs by investing in clean energy, like wind power.

The president-elect and his economic team have been meeting with members of Congress about the plan for days, but a final solution is still in the works.

This will be Obama’s last trip to Ohio as president-elect. The next day, Obama will travel from Philadelphia to Washington, DC to kick-off Inauguration weekend.

(CNN) - President-elect Obama sat down with some of his toughest critics Tuesday evening, visiting conservative columnist George Will's Maryland home. Also on hand for the gathering: New York Times columnist David Brooks, Weekly Standard editor William Kristol, and others.

The president-elect's plan to revive the economy is taking shape. Here's what we know so far.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - President-elect Barack Obama is trying to rally Congress - and the public - around a two-year plan to create 3.7 million jobs and revive the economy.

No doubt about it, it will cost a lot. And economists from left and right are convinced it's what the country needs. But how much better off will we be by 2011?

Watch: Breaking down Obama's tax plan

The likely answer, unfortunately, doesn't involve a ticker-tape parade and a booming job market.

Obama's desire to create or save at least 3 million jobs is "a very concrete way of saying we want to ease as much of the pain as we can," said economist Christina Romer, a coauthor of the analysis and Obama's choice to head the Council of Economic Advisers, in a video address released this weekend.

Full story

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Two Democratic sources tell CNN that President-elect Obama will be on Capitol Hill today to meet with Senate Democrats at their weekly policy luncheon — to make his case for how he wants to spend the second half of the $700 billion in TARP funds and to push his economic stimulus package.

A transition source confirms to CNN that Obama wanted to go one last time before becoming president, and says he’ll go to the Republican lunch sometime after Inauguration Day.

Related: Obama to make case on bailout

CNN has learned that President-elect Obama plans to close the U.S. military prison located at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (Getty Images/File)

WASHINGTON (CNN) – President-elect Barack Obama is planning to move as early as his first week in office to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay to try and show a dramatic break from the Bush administration's approach to the war on terror, according to two officials close to the transition.

One of the officials said it would be in keeping with Obama's campaign promise to shut down the prison through executive order, a move which was also pushed by last year's Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

"The President-elect has repeatedly said the legal framework at Gitmo has failed to successfully and swiftly prosecute terrorists," said one of the officials close to the transition, who was not authorized to speak publicly about private deliberations.

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The president-elect's plan to revive the economy is taking shape. Here's what we know so far.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - As lawmakers head into the second week of debate over President-elect Barack Obama's proposed economic stimulus plan, new details continue to shed light on what promises to be a sprawling and complex piece of legislation in American history.

Though many details are still lacking, the aim of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan is clear: rejuvenate the economy and create jobs by spending hundreds of billions of dollars on infrastructure, state budget relief, safety nets for the needy and tax cuts.

A recent analysis by Obama economic advisers Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein suggested that the proposed plan could save or create 3 million to 4 million jobs by the end of 2010.

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Obama made a Saturday stop at Ben's Chili Bowl, a local DC institution.

WASHINGTON (CNN) –- Obama popped in for lunch Saturday at Ben’s Chili Bowl, the 50-year-old Washington fast food institution famous for its “half-smokes” –- sausages smothered in spicy homemade chili sauce, mustard, and onions.

The visit came as a complete surprise to Sonya Ali, one of the owners of the family-run business.

“Do you think I’d look like this if I knew?” she said, referencing her red blouse and slacks. The Secret Service came in and secured the location. Ali asked them how soon they could expect the president-elect. “Within minutes,” they told her.

And sure enough, he did, with Washington D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty in tow.

Security barricaded the U Street block, and hundreds rushed out of restaurants and apartment buildings to catch a glimpse of the incoming president.

Listen: Hear the crowd react and the owner reflect on the visit

Obama posed with diners and staff in all three rooms of the restaurant, before returning to the counter to collect his order: a chili half-smoke and sweet tea. Fenty had cheese fries and water.

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Protestors gathered near the White House Saturday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Thousands of pro-Palestinian activists rallied outside the temporary residence of President-elect Barack Obama Saturday, and called on the incoming leader to stop the violence in Gaza.

About 3,000 people carrying signs and chanting "Free Palestine" flooded Lafayette Park, which is sandwiched between the White House and the Hay-Adams Hotel, where the president-elect is living with his family.

Carrying a Palestinian and wearing a keffiyeh, Abdel-Kader Elkabil called on the president-elect to take action.

"Please Mr. Obama, do something. We love you. We voted for you," said Abdel-Kader Elkabil. "I'm expecting you to do something...you're the only one who can do something."

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Crowley: Obama faces daunting challenges on two fronts.

The economy and national security are two of Obama's biggest worries heading into office, CNN's Candy Crowley reports.