Washington in Five Minutes

NEW YORK

Schlossberg asks for Senate seat

ALBANY, N.Y. | Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg has told New York Gov. David Paterson that she wants to be the state’s next senator, becoming the highest-profile person to actively lobby for the seat being vacated by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Mrs. Schlossberg has told the governor that she wants the job should Mrs. Clinton be confirmed as secretary of state for President-elect Barack Obama, according to two people familiar with the conversations between Mrs. Schlossberg and Mr. Paterson.

The people spoke on the condition of anonymity Monday because neither Mrs. Schlossberg nor Mr. Paterson, a Democrat, have acknowledged that she is seeking the position.

If appointed by Mr. Paterson, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy would hold the seat once occupied by her late uncle, Robert F. Kennedy.

INAUGURATION

Obama to arrive by train Jan. 17

President-elect Barack Obama will kick off his inaugural celebration Jan. 17 - the weekend before his swearing-in as the country’s 44th president - by traveling on a train to the nation’s capital.

He and his family will start their daylong journey with an event in Philadelphia before boarding the train and picking up Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his family in Wilmington, Del. The president-elect and his group then will make a stop in Baltimore before making their way to Washington.

Mr. Obama will take office Jan. 20.

“We hope to include as many Americans as possible who wish to participate, but can’t be in Washington,” said Emmett Beliveau, executive director of the Presidential Inaugural Committee. “These events will allow us to do that while honoring the rich history and tradition of previous inaugural journeys.”

SENATE

Kerry to chair Foreign Relations

Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts is expected to take over next month as chairman of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Senate Democratic leader said Monday.

Mr. Kerry, 65, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, would replace Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, who will become vice president Jan. 20, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said.

“I am honored to serve as chairman of a committee, which I know from my own experience as a young man can impact the course of our security and help advance our values and interests in the world,” Mr. Kerry said in a statement issued from Islamabad, Pakistan, as part of his first trip abroad as the incoming chairman.

FEDERAL COURT

30-month sentence for bribing lawmaker

A contractor who bribed former U.S. Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham was sentenced to more than two years in prison by a federal judge Monday.

Mitchell Wade was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined $250,000 by U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina.

Wade and his lawyers asked for probation and home detention. “I’m a different man today,” Wade said. “I’ve take radical and drastic steps” to change my life.

But Judge Urbina called Wade’s crimes “quite damning” in giving him his sentence. Wade pleaded guilty in 2006 to giving Cunningham more than $1 million in kickbacks, a yacht dubbed “The Duke-stir” and other gifts in exchange for about $150 million in government contracts.

Cunningham, a former eight-term Republican congressman and Vietnam War flying ace, pleaded guilty in 2005 to accepting $2.4 million in bribes. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.

WHITE HOUSE

Olympians join Barney’s video

Olympic gold medalists Michael Phelps and Nastia Liukin guest star in the final holiday doggie video from the White House.

In the “Barney Cam” Christmas greeting, the first family’s Scottish terrier scampers amid the White House’s red, white and blue holiday decorations before retiring for a nap and imagining himself as an athlete.

Barney is shown in cutout animation as an Olympic vaulter, swimmer and synchronized diver with fellow terrier Miss Beazley, both in red swimsuits. He also dreams of sinking the final putt to secure the Ryder Cup, with the entire U.S. Ryder Cup team chanting “Barney, Barney, Barney!”

The Barney Cam spot introduced Monday starts with President Bush, first lady Laura Bush and their daughters, Jenna and Barbara, reminiscing about their times together in the White House, then sending Barney off to decorate and nap.

After a wake-up from Mr. Bush (“We’re sprinting to the finish, not napping to the finish”), Barney gets a “10” score from Miss Liukin and fellow gymnast Shawn Johnson.

Mr. Phelps tells Barney: “I’m glad the decorations are finally coming together and you’re using my favorite color, gold.”

MILITARY SPENDING

Wars’ price tag put at $904 billion

U.S. military operations, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have cost $904 billion since 2001 and could top $1.7 trillion by 2018, even with big cuts in overseas troop deployments, a report said Monday.

A new study released by the nonpartisan Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments said the Iraq conflict’s $687 billion price tag alone now exceeds the cost of every past U.S. war except for World War II, when expenditures are adjusted for inflation.

With another $184 billion in spending for Afghanistan included, the two conflicts surpass the cost of the Vietnam War by about 50 percent, the report said.

From wire dispatches and staff reports