Top Items:
Associated Press:
Bush pardons 14 individuals — Outgoing president also commutes the prison sentence of two others — WASHINGTON - The Associated Press has learned that President George W. Bush has granted pardons to 14 individuals and commuted the prison sentences of two others.
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Michael Winter / On Deadline:
Bush pardons 14, commutes 2 sentences — The Associated Press is reporting that President Bush has pardoned 14 individuals and commuted the prison sentences of two others. No word yet on their identities or crimes. — They are first pardons since March and brings his total to 171 pardons and eight commutations.
Jason Trahan / Dallas Morning News:
Holy Land Foundation defendants guilty on all counts — jtrahan@dallasnews.com — A jury on Monday determined that the Holy Land Foundation and five men who worked with the Muslim charity were guilty of three dozen counts related to the illegal funneling of at least $12 million to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
Discussion:
Power Line, Jihad Watch, Counterterrorism Blog, Harry's Place, On Deadline, TalkLeft, Israel Matzav and Wizbang
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Articles by the Investigative Project on Terrorism:
HLF Officials Convicted on All Counts — DALLAS - A jury convicted five former officials at the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) on all counts in the Hamas-support case after 8 days of deliberations. — The men, Shukri Abu-Baker, Ghassan Elashi, Mohamed El-Mezain …
Jeff Montgomery / delawareonline:
Minner naming Ted Kaufman to fill Biden's seat — Gov. Ruth Ann Minner said today she will appoint Ted Kaufman, a longtime, close adviser to Sen. Joe Biden, to fill the senator's seat until a 2010 special election, a move that some warned could leave Delaware Democratic Party feelings bruised for years to come.
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Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Minner Appoints Biden Aide to Senate
Minner Appoints Biden Aide to Senate
Discussion:
Marc Ambinder, Political Machine, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Gawker and Democracy in America
Bloomberg:
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.
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Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin XXV: The Turkey Massacre — The wack-job is once again denying reality. Here's a sane person: … But Palin is now denying all of it, and implicitly calling the photographer a liar: … Who are you going to believe: Palin or your lyin' eyes?
Discussion:
Spin Cycle
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Roger Simon / The Politico:
GOP senator: We haven't learned — The Republican U.S. senator sits glumly across the restaurant table. — “I don't think we have learned much from the election in terms of what people want to see,” he says. “We have the same gridlock.” — By the “same gridlock,” he means that party hard-liners …
Discussion:
www.redstate.com
Huma Khan / Political Punch:
Rice Likely to UN for Obama (Susan, Not Condi) — From Jake Tapper, George Stephanopoulos, and Martha Raddatz: — ABC News has learned that Dr. Susan Rice has emerged as the leading candidate to be President-elect Obama's nominee as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
BREITBART.COM:
Alan Colmes to Depart Top Rated Hannity & Colmes — FOX News Channel's (FNC) Alan Colmes will relinquish his role as co-host of Hannity & Colmes at the end of the year. — In announcing his decision, Colmes said, “I approached Bill Shine (FNC's Senior Vice President of Programming) …
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Brian Stelter / TV Decoder:
One Half of ‘Hannity & Colmes’ Is Leaving
One Half of ‘Hannity & Colmes’ Is Leaving
Discussion:
The Radio Equalizer, TVNewser, Gawker, Hot Air, Think Progress, Say Anything, Political Machine, Salon, Daily Kos, Wizbang and News Hounds
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Melody Barnes to Run Domestic Policy Council — My ThinkProgress colleagues are reporting that Melody Barnes, who was at CAP before I got on board, will head the Domestic Policy Council in the Obama White House. The DPC is in charge of interagency coordination and policy formation …
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Bloomberg:
Paulson May Ask for Remaining $350 Billion of TARP — Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) — Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, less than a week after indicating he would let the Obama administration decide how to use the second half of the $700 billion financial fund, is considering asking for the money.
Discussion:
Free exchange
iowahawk:
Obama Names Bill Clinton to Presidential Post — WASHINGTON DC - Ending weeks of speculation and rumors, President-Elect Barack Obama today named Bill Clinton to join his incoming administration as President of the United States, where he will head the federal government's executive branch.
Eugene Volokh / The Volokh Conspiracy:
Hillary Clinton and the Emoluments Clause: There's been talk about whether Sen. Hillary Clinton is disqualified from a position as Secretary of State by the Emoluments Clause: … Adam Bonin's Daily Kos blog has a bit more on this, but the short version is that a Jan. 2008 executive order …
Discussion:
The New Republic, Political Machine, Donklephant, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and Below The Beltway
Justin Rood / ABCNEWS:
Citi, AIG Won't Drop Big Sports Sponsorships — Critics Slam Bailed-Out Firms' Pricey Deals for Naming Rights, Logo Placement — AIG, Citibank and a number of other federally bailed-out financial institutions have no plans to cancel hundreds of millions of dollars in sports team sponsorships …
Discussion:
Philly.com, LT Nixon Rants, Think Progress, The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, Hot Air, Below The Beltway, On Deadline, A Blog For All and Don Surber
Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
Obama and Bush Working to Calm Volatile Market — CHICAGO — President-elect Barack Obama sought to seize the reins of the economic crisis Monday as he and his new economic team worked closely with President Bush to inject confidence into the trembling financial markets, which rallied and erased most of last week's losses.
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Molly Ball / Las Vegas Review-Journal:
POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: Freedom's Watch effort winding down — Conservative group's future undecided — Freedom's Watch, the conservative group backed by Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson, is pretty much kaput, sources with knowledge of the organization said.
Charles Homans / Washington Monthly:
Last Secrets of the Bush Administration — How to find out what we still don't know. — In March 2001, U.S. Archivist John W. Carlin received a letter from Alberto Gonzales, then counsel to the newly inaugurated president George W. Bush. It concerned an important deadline that was looming—one that Bush owed to Richard Nixon.
ABCNEWS:
CONSERVATIVE LADIES PRETTY IN MINK — Pretty in Mink: Conservative Leading Ladies — Ann Coulter is the author of six New York Times best-sellers, a popular syndicated columnist and a frequent TV pundit. She is the 2004 recipient of the Luce Policy Institute's Woman of the Year Award …
Anita Kumar / Virginia Politics:
Perriello Wins House Seat — The State Board of Elections certified Virginia's Nov. 4 election results, which includes a win for Democrat Tom Perriello over Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr., a longtime incumbent in southern Virginia. — Goode has not conceded the close race and has 10 days to ask for a recount.
cfinst.org:
REALITY CHECK: Obama Received About the Same Percentage from Small Donors in 2008 as Bush in 2004 — Obama also raised 80% more from large donors than small, outstripping all rivals and predecessors — It turns out that Barack Obama's donors may not have been quite as different as we had thought.
Matthew Miller / DSCC:
New Poll Shows Martin With Two Points of Chambliss, Incumbent Below 50% — Chambliss leads Martin only 48% to 46% in DSCC poll — Georgia Democratic Senate candidate Jim Martin is within two points of Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss and holds Chambliss to just 48% of the vote …