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Good afternoon, from the CNN Center in Atlanta, I’m Reggie Aqui. Here is what’s happening NOW IN THE NEWS.

A source tells us that President-elect Barack Obama has chosen his chief of staff. And it’s going to be Illinois lawmaker and veteran of the Clinton White House Rahm Emanuel. He’s apparently¹ accepted that position. We’re also hearing that long-time Obama press aide Robert Gives is likely to be his White House Press Secretary. Another main focus of presidential transition teams is of course, National Security. And today, begins Obama’s top level, top secret and intelligence briefings, the same ones that are prepared everyday for President Bush. CNN has also learned that tomorrow Mr. Obama will hold his first news conference as president-elect.

"This election gives us all reasons to be proud of our democracy and our country." That statement comes from President Bush. He made it earlier today. He was addressing his staff. The president said he will meet with President-elect Barack Obama early next week to ensure a seamless transfer of power in January. The president also urged his staff to cooperate with the Obama team on that transition as the country goes through economic crisis and war.

Iran’s president is offering relatively² warm words to his next U.S. counterpart. Iran’s official news agency reports that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has offered his congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama. He's quoted as hoping for "basic and fair change in US foreign policy”.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Israel today to meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Rice says it’s important to maintain momentum³ and support for the negotiations⁴. The White House says a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians is not likely this year.

Now over to California where voters have approved a ban on same-sex marriage. Now three groups are suing to try and prevent the state constitutional amendment⁵ from going into effect. They say the ballot⁶ initiative was improperly⁷ used. As you can see, thousands of demonstrators protest the passage of Proposition 8 in L.A. while supporters of the ban praise the 5-point victory. The Los Angeles County Registrar⁸ says he is no longer issuing same-sex marriage licenses⁹. But other than San Francisco a different story, the mayor, Gavin Newsom, says he will continue issuing the licenses until he’s forced to stop.

And now you are up-to-date. Those are your headlines at this hour. Please stick with us here CNN for more on those stories and the other news of the day.