Michelle Obama makes Vogue cover (US, President, Barrack, event)

President Barack Obama's wife Michelle is the cover girl for the March edition of fashion magazine Vogue. It is only the second time an American First Lady has taken the place of a model on a Vogue cover - the other was Hillary Clinton in 1998.

Mrs Obama, who was photographed wearing outfits she chose herself, says she is aware her wardrobe is under scrutiny. "I'm not going to pretend that I don't care about it. But I also have to be practical," she told Vogue magazine. Annie Leibovitz photographed Mrs Obama wearing a magenta silk dress designed by Jason Wu for the cover portrait. It is the second time she has chosen to wear one of his creations for a high-profile public appearance.

She wore a long white gown by Wu for the inauguration balls on 20 January. Mrs Obama's sense of style has proved influential. On the day she dressed her family in clothes from J Crew for her husband's inauguration, the company's shares leapt 10%. In the accompanying interview for Vogue, Mrs Obama also talks about her role as a social hostess.

"We want entertaining in the White House to feel like America, that we are reminded of all the many facets of our culture. The Latino community, the Asian-American community, the African-American community... hip-hop, spoken word - we want to bring the youth in, for them to hear their voices in this," she said.

On her self-declared role as "mom-in-chief" she will try to take her daughters Malia and Sasha to school every morning, though she acknowledges this may not always be possible. "I like to be a presence in my kids' school. I want to know the teachers; I want to know the parents."

Apart from Bess Truman, Vogue has photographed the wife of every American president since 1929 when President Herbert Hoover's wife, Lou Henry Hoover, was featured

Do you know President Barrack Obama's Secret Email Address? David Lim, Auckland, New Zealand

Obama won the fight to keep email and his BlackBerry. Now, knowing the president's email address is a privilege reserved for the truly elite. The NYT explains this, and other juicy details about Obama's email.

We've all seen this picture below of him using a BlackBerry since becoming president, though what he's holding is "actually a more sophisticated, encrypted variation." Biden has one just like it.

The people who know Obama's top secret email address are exceedingly few: Biden, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, senior adviser David Axelroad, press secretary Robert Gibbs, a few other top advisers and a select group of friends from Chicago. Even some cabinet members, like Defense Secretary Robert Gates don't have his email address. And, it's likely that his top secret email address will be changed on a regular basis.
If you are lucky enough to get an email from him, it's encrypted in such a way that it can't be forwarded to your parents, or anyone. No attachments will get through, either.
Left sadly unanswered, however, is the greatest question of all: Does Oprah, formerly the most important person in America whose name starts with O, have his email address?

PHOTOS: Obama Inaugural Ride & More Presidential Limos (Auckland, New Zealand, David Lim, NZ)

Rumor has it that the new U.S. presidential limousine is sturdy enough to withstand a direct hit from an asteroid. Even if not, Barack Obama's fully customized Cadillac, which debuts on Inauguration Day, is still the place to be when disaster strikes. Specs weren't released, but experts say the limo's body probably sits on the chassis of a GM commercial truck and has a similarly hefty engine. "The Beast," as the Secret Service calls it, likely has heavy armor, five-inch-thick (12.7-centimeter-thick) bombproof glass, tough-as-nails tires, and a sealed interior that's invulnerable to chemical attack. One thing it's not is green: No car this mammoth will sport good gas mileage. —Photograph courtesy U.S. Department of the Treasur.

In 1981, Ronald Reagan started his administration in a Lincoln and ended it in a Cadillac.

The 40th president's first ride was a hand-me-down from Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter. It took Ford nearly three years to complete the vehicle. The limo helped protect Ford from a 1975 assassination attempt and it was the car Reagan was entering when he was shot by John Hinckley in 1981. The Lincoln was replaced in 1984 with two Cadillac Fleetwoods.


Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson were chauffeured in what was first an open-topped Lincoln (top). A roof was added after Kennedy was shot.

Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower shared a "bubbletop" Lincoln (second from bottom). The clear back roof allowed bystanders to see the President even when it was raining.

A convertible Lincoln (bottom) was President Franklin D. Roosevelt's car of choice.



President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Sunshine Special" convertible was the first customized presidential car.

During World War II, the vehicle was retrofitted for security, after which it could reportedly stop machine gun bullets. The specs seem wimpy today: The windows were only an inch thick.




President Warren Harding was the first U.S. President to travel to the Inauguration via car, a Packard Twin-Six in 1921. The 29th president is also said to have been the first Commander in Chief who knew how to dr