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1. Two days after the election, President-elect Obama picked his chief of staff. Democratic officials say Rahm Emanuel has accepted the job. The third-ranking House Democrat¹ served in the Clinton White House and has a reputation for bluntness and single-minded determination.

2. Meanwhile, President Bush is calling for a seamless transition for his Democratic successor. Bush told his staff today to make sure the transfer of power is a smooth one. Bush and Obama are expected to sit down for talks at the White House Monday.

3. Tropical Storm Paloma is strengthening and turning to the north as it approaches the Cayman Islands and Cuba. Forecasters predict the storm could make landfall over Cuba as a hurricane by Sunday.

4. And a Milwaukee teen is lucky to be alive after being dumped into the back of a recycling truck and compacted. It happened after the boy hid in a recycling bin² after running away from his boot camp-style school. Police say the teen's injuries aren't life-threatening.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. blunt: adj.

speaking in an honest way even if this upsets people

bluntness n.

2. single-minded: adj.

Someone who is single-minded has only one aim or purpose and is determined³ to achieve it.

3. seamless: adj.

You use seamless to describe something that has no breaks or gaps in it or which continues without stopping.

4. boot camp: n.

In the United States, a boot camp is a camp where people who have just joined the army, navy, or marines are trained.