memeorandum: LOTT TO RETIRE BY END OF YEAR (Domenico Montanaro/MSNBC)

Sen. Trent Lott to resign — NBC News: Minority whip would leave Senate before end of the year — NBC News has learned that Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., the minority whip is in the midst of informing close allies that he plans to resign his senate seat before the end of the year.

Discussion: MyDD

Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:

LOTT TO RETIRE BY END OF YEAR — NBC News has learned that Trent Lott's in the midst of informing close allies that he plans to resign his senate seat before the end of the year. It's possible a formal announcement of his plans could take place as early as today.

Discussion: Washington Wire, Think Progress, TownHall Blog, The Carpetbagger Report, Associated Press and the albany project

The Politico:

Top official: Lott to resign — Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) plans to resign his seat by year's end, a senior Republican official told Politico. — The announcement took Capitol Hill by surprise because Lott, the former majority leader, seemed to be relishing his job as minority whip, the second-ranking GOP leadership job.

Discussion: michellemalkin.com

The Politico:

Lott announcing resignation — Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.) is planning on resigning from the Senate this year and may make a formal announcement as soon as today. — If he resigns, Lott would become the sixth Republican senator to announce they were stepping down this election cycle.

Discussion: CNN and CNN Political Ticker

Jack Elliott Jr / Associated Press:

Lott to resign by end of year — JACKSON, Miss. - Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, the Senate's No. 2 Republican, plans to resign his seat before the end of the year, congressional and White House officials said Monday. — Lott, 66, scheduled two news conferences in Pascagoula and Jackson later in the day to reveal his plans.

Discussion: The BRAD BLOG and On Deadline

Christy Hardin Smith / Firedoglake:

BREAKING: Trent Lott Rumored To Be Resigning — MSNBC is reporting the following: … So, let's see if we have this straight: he's cashing in before the lobbying restriction goes into effect — hello oil, gas, and gambling interests that he was already serving anyway …

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

Romney and Giuliani Turn Negative in N.H. — Former Mayor Tries To Chip Away at Lead — With Rudolph W. Giuliani looking to spring a surprise against Mitt Romney in the state hosting the nation's first primary, the race for the Republican presidential nomination took a sharply negative turn …

Discussion: The Swamp, The Caucus and New York Times

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

Rudy: It's time to unmask Romney — WINDHAM, N.H. — In a big strategic shift, Rudy Giuliani hammered Mitt Romney's record on three fronts, saying it was time to "take the mask off and take a look at what kind of governor he was." — Using some of the toughest language of his campaign …

Discussion: TIME

Washington Post:

In Iowa, Clinton Intensifies Attacks — With Race Close, Obama Stresses His Electability — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), her status as the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in jeopardy, stepped up attacks on her closest rival with fewer than six weeks until the first nominating contest.

Discussion: The Politico, Pajamas Media, PrairiePundit and Political Machine

Raymond Hernandez / New York Times:

Short of Money, G.O.P. Enlists Rich Candidates — Confronting an enormous fund-raising gap with Democrats, Republican Party officials are aggressively recruiting wealthy candidates who can spend large sums of their own money to finance their Congressional races, party officials say.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Hot Air, The Democratic Daily and PAXALLES

Peter Allen / Telegraph:

Boys' moped deaths ignite riot in Paris suburb — Rioting broke in one of Paris's tinder box suburban housing estates last night after two young boys were killed when their moped collided with a police car. — Molotov cocktails were thrown, and cars and plastic bins set on fire following …

Discussion: Flopping Aces and Atlas Shrugs

Agence France Presse:
Police stations attacked after two dead in Paris suburb

Discussion: Outside The Beltway

Nidra Poller / Pajamas Media:
PARIS BURNING AGAIN?

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Noblesse Oblige and michellemalkin.com

Fred Hiatt / Washington Post:

Calculation and Conviction — Barack Obama suggests that Hillary Clinton is guilty of triangulating, poll-testing and telling the American people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear. — Maybe so. But then it's fair to ask: Is Obama telling the American people anything they don't want to hear?

Discussion: Heading Right, TalkLeft and Captain's Quarters

NY Daily News:
Hillary Clinton has only herself to blame

Discussion: PrairiePundit, Blue Crab Boulevard and GINA COBB

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

ABC News and Facebook in Joint Effort to Bring Viewers Closer to Political Coverage — Facebook, the popular social networking site, has become a full-fledged platform for communicating, sharing and advertising. ABC News is betting that it will become a platform for political coverage, as well.

Discussion: The Page, Mashable! and Silicon Alley Insider

Julie Bosman / New York Times:

Edwards Offers Heating Plan — Former Senator John Edwards outlined a proposal yesterday in New Hampshire to lower the cost of heating oil, increase regulation of oil companies and promote energy efficiency. — Speaking at a town hall-style campaign event in Meredith, N.H. …

Discussion: The American Street, QandO and Say Anything

Deacon / Power Line:

Heroic rhetoric — When I first heard George W. Bush talking about "compassionate conservatism" in 1999, I figured (and certainly hoped) that it was at least 80 percent ad campaign and no more than 20 percent policy guide. Eight years later, it seems to me that, in practice …

Discussion: Unqualified Offerings

George Will / Real Clear Politics:
The Failings Of Heroic Conservatism

Discussion: The Van Der Galiën Gazette

Lawrence Summers / Financial Times:

Wake up to the dangers of a deepening crisis — Three months ago it was reasonable to expect that the subprime credit crisis would be a financially significant event but not one that would threaten the overall pattern of economic growth. This is still a possible outcome but no longer the preponderant probability.

Discussion: Economist's View and Calculated Risk

Financial Times:
Investors fear new round of turmoil

Discussion: RADAMISTO, Marginal Revolution, Grasping Reality … and Paul Krugman