Obama to Tap Berkeley Prof to Chair Council of Economic Advisers  —  From Jake Tapper and George Stephanopoulos:  —  ABC News has learned that President-elect Obama had tapped University of California -Berkeley economics professor Christina Romer to be the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers …

Fed Pledges Top $7.4 Trillion to Ease Frozen Credit  —  Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. government is prepared to lend more than $7.4 trillion on behalf of American taxpayers, or half the value of everything produced in the nation last year, to rescue the financial system since the credit markets seized up 15 months ago.

Citigroup  —  Mark Thoma has the rundown of informed reactions.  A bailout was necessary — but this bailout is an outrage: a lousy deal for the taxpayers, no accountability for management, and just to make things perfect, quite possibly inadequate, so that Citi will be back for more.

Sloppy Dems may spell Franken advantage  —  One of the closest elections in U.S. Senate history is hurtling towards a critical juncture in its ongoing recount this week, as the campaign of Democratic challenger Al Franken opens a new legal front in its battle to break a virtual tie with Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.

Whistleblower: U.S. Snooped on Tony Blair, Iraqi President  —  Former Intercept Operator Tells ABC News He Saw Blair File, Heard “Pillow Talk” of Iraqi Leader  —  A former communications intercept operator says U.S. intelligence snooped on the private lives of two of America's most important allies …

Media Notes: An Interview With Outgoing White House Press Secretary Dana Perino  —  The network stars were gone, the seats half empty and the questioning low-key as Dana Perino held a White House briefing last week, her biggest announcement that the administration would try to ease air traffic for the holidays.

Needed: Network bailout?  —  Bad economy slows ad sales  —  It's D-Day for the broadcast networks.  —  They've been living on borrowed time for the better part of two decades, thanks to advertisers willing to toss in more cash each year even as ratings slowly trended ever lower.

Admit We Don't Know  —  “In my view it has to be between five and seven hundred billion dollars,” proclaimed Senator Charles Schumer Sunday on ABC's “This Week.”  The “it” is the economic stimulus package the new Congress intends to send to the new president, Barack Obama, in January.

Time Magazine: News At The Speed Of Two Tin Cans And A Piece Of String  —  digg it  —  Michael Scherer over at Swampland writes about what a swell idea it would be to have Mitt Romney, who has been demagoguing the auto industry crisis, as “auto czar.”  (Mitt's dad was head of an auto maker …

What a Time It Was  —  Last night, some friends and I were listening to “Even Hitler Had a Girlfriend” and the little-known fact that The Mr. T Experience's Dr. Frank was a big-time liberal hawk warblogger back in the day came up.  Even better, unlike most classic blogs, his archives are still 100 percent intact.

As President Bush's Term Comes to an End, Some Well-Known Offenders Seek Pardons  —  With a backlog of applications piled up at the Justice Department, high-profile criminals and their well-connected lawyers increasingly are appealing directly to President Bush for special consideration …

As Taboos Ease, Saudi Girl Group Dares to Rock  —  JIDDA, Saudi Arabia — They cannot perform in public.  They cannot pose for album cover photographs.  Even their jam sessions are secret, for fear of offending the religious authorities in this ultraconservative kingdom.

When Left is Right  —  Rachel Maddow always thought she was an outsider.  How did she become a star?  —  From the magazine issue dated Dec 1, 2008  —  “Can you believe that sellout, Barack Obama?” says Rachel Maddow, looking around the room.  “Let's hit him from the left!”