Clinton Decides to Accept Post at State Dept., Confidants Say  —  WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton has decided to give up her Senate seat and accept the position of secretary of state, making her the public face around the world for the administration of the man who beat …

GEITHNER LIKELY TO BE TREASURY SECRETARY  —  NBC News has learned that the president-elect is preparing to roll out his economic team on Monday — and will personally announce the team and answer questions — part of an effort to reassure markets. … Barring last minute changes …

How Tom Daschle Might Kill Conservatism  —  The GOP strategist had been joking about the upcoming presidential election and giving his humorous assessments of the candidates.  Then he suddenly cut out the schtick and got scary serious.  “Let me tell you something, if Democrats take the White House …

Obama daughters: Private D.C. school  —  The two young daughters of President-elect Barack Obama will be moving schools this winter as the family moves from Chicago to Washington, and the Obama family has settled on a tried-and-true setting for Washington's elite:  —  The private Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C.

How much is a detroit autoworker really worth?  —  $70 per hour: right or wrong?  —  Felix Salmon argues that this figure for GM's labor costs is deceptive.  Sort of, but it's actually quite apt at showing the core problem with GM.  —  Felix says that “the average GM assembly-line worker makes …

Hold Tight, Hillary: Russia Just Got Scarier  —  Julia Ioffe is a freelance writer living in New York.  —  If any proof were needed that the Russian political system operates in its own time-space continuum, it came this morning, when the parliament decided to deal with the country's economic meltdown by amending its constitution.

Citigroup, Under Siege, Holds Talks With U.S.  —  With the sharp stock-market decline for Citigroup rapidly becoming a full-blown crisis of confidence, the company's executives on Friday entered into talks with federal officials about how to stabilize the struggling financial giant.

Franken Camp's Claim: We've Cut Coleman's Lead To Under 100 Votes  —  Has Al Franken cut Norm Coleman's lead down to double digits?  That's what the Franken campaign just claimed in a briefing with reporters.  —  The current estimates from the Star Tribune have Coleman up by about 130 votes …

AS BAD AS IT GETS  —  “And you thought her media outings as a vice presidential candidate were as bad as it gets,” says alarmed MSNBC host David Shuster ... following footage of Sarah Palin speaking at a turkey processing plant:  —  Shuster (who urges that young viewers be shielded from the interview) …

Iraqi throng protests agreement on U.S. forces  —  From From Yousif Bassil and Jomana Karadsheh  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Iraqis outraged by a proposed security pact between Iraq and the United States staged an angry but peaceful protest against the deal Friday.