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Obama: I'm the one with vision of future

CHICAGO, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama Wednesday bristled at suggestions he's filling his administration with old Washington hands.

At his third news conference in as many days in Chicago, Obama said he is not looking to the people he's appointing for a vision of the future.

"The vision for change comes from me," Obama said after announcing his formation of a President's Economic Advisory Board, modeled after former President Dwight Eisenhower's intelligence advisory board.

"The old ways of thinking and the old ways of acting just won't do."

Obama said he is looking at the best economic minds in America to help him "ensure our financial system stays effective."

"Policymaking in Washington can become a little too ingrown, a little too insular," Obama said. "The walls of the echo chamber can sometimes keep out fresh voices and new ways of thinking. You start engaging in group-think."

At the same time, Obama said, you need people who know their way around Washington for the government to function, so it makes sense for him to reach back to the Clinton administration for expertise.

New York transit on alert for al-Qaida

NEW YORK, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned Wednesday that al-Qaida could be scheming to attack New York City public transit systems.

The agency along with the FBI said it had received reports that terrorist operatives had been discussing the idea of planting bombs on subway and passenger trains but termed the report "plausible but unsubstantiated."

"We have no specific details to confirm that this plot has developed beyond aspirational planning but we are issuing this warning out of concern that such an attack could possibly be conducted during the forthcoming holiday season," the agencies said in a written statement.

A Homeland Security spokeswoman told CNN that the national preparedness level wasn't being changed although commuters in the New York area and other major cities might see some increased security on trains and platforms.

Vote delayed on Iraq security pact

BAGHDAD, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- The speaker of Iraq's parliament says a vote on the proposed security pact with the United States has been delayed until Thursday.

Sunni politicians are bargaining with their Shiite and Kurdish counterparts over reform legislation that they believe will protect their interests, CNN is reporting.

CNN says the Sunnis are concerned about too much power in the hands of Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and also want a referendum next year to access the progress of the security agreement.

The proposed security pact sets June 30, 2009, as the deadline for U.S. combat troops to withdraw from Iraqi cities and towns. It sets the date for all U.S. troops to leave Iraq is December 31, 2011.

CNN says the Sunnis want reforms to be voted on before the security agreement comes up for a vote.

Karzai defends Taliban peace overtures

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai says he understands why some members of the U.N. Security Council may be alarmed by his peace overtures to the Taliban.

But, he assured members of a visiting U.N. delegation Wednesday, he wants to deal only with elements of the Islamic fundamentalist insurgency that are amenable to compromise and said he would not negotiate with terrorist groups, CNN reported.

"Afghanistan will do everything it can to provide the opportunity for peace and return to Afghanistan for those Taliban who are seeking peace and who have been frightened or forced into aggressive activity against us. This does not include al-Qaida or other terrorist networks and I hope the international community will stand with us," Karzai said.

The Afghan president earlier Wednesday said the NATO-led coalition forces in the country had neglected the militants' sanctuaries since 2004 when he noticed rising terrorist activities, Xinhua news agency reported.

The delegation is on a fact-finding mission and includes representatives from 14 other countries, the report said.

CNN said Karzai also brought up the idea of a time line to end the conflict that would include negotiations with moderate Taliban leaders.

Mom cleared on MySpace suicide felonies

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- A Los Angeles jury convicted a Missouri woman on misdemeanor charges stemming from a MySpace hoax that allegedly drove a teenage girl to suicide.

Lori Drew was found guilty Wednesday on charges of illegally accessing a computer, but the federal court jury acquitted her on felony computer hacking charges and couldn't reach a verdict on a felony conspiracy charge, KNBC-TV, Los Angeles, reported.

The judge in case has yet to rule on a defense motion to dismiss the misdemeanor counts due to a lack of evidence.

Drew was indicted after it was revealed that she had been behind the fictitious suitor who first wooed and then jilted 13-year-old Megan Meier over the Internet in 2006. The girl, a former friend of Drew's daughter, killed herself a short time later.

Missouri authorities were unable to find a crime to charge Drew with amid the public uproar. Federal authorities in Los Angeles eventually brought charges of breach of contract and conspiracy based on the fact MySpace maintains its servers in Southern California.

Former first lady suffers perforated ulcer

HOUSTON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Former first lady Barbara Bush underwent emergency surgery for a perforated ulcer at a Houston hospital, a family spokesman said Wednesday.

KPRC-TV, Houston, reported the former first lady was "resting comfortably" at Methodist Hospital, where she was admitted Tuesday night.

The spokesman said the 83-year-old Barbara Bush had a 1-centimeter hole in her stomach, which was repaired through a small incision in her abdomen.

Bush, accompanied by her husband, former President George H.W. Bush, was hospitalized after complaining of pain in her abdomen.