It Hurts To Be John Kerry Today  —  It must have been painful, but at least it was classy.  Sen. John Kerry's (D-Mass.) reaction statement to President-elect Obama's choice for secretary of state was the first to arrive in the Sleuth's inbox (besides, of course, Bill Clinton's).

Dow Plunges 680 Points as Recession Is Declared  —  The evidence of a recession has been widespread for months: slower production, stagnant wages and hundreds of thousands of lost jobs.  —  But the nonpartisan National Bureau of Economic Research, charged with making the call for the history books …

Franken May Ask Senate to Intervene in Minn. Recount  —  Democrat Al Franken's campaign said Monday that as many as 1,000 absentee ballots were improperly disqualified in Minnesota's Senate race, and that it may appeal to courts or the U.S. Senate to order that those ballots be counted.

Bush: ‘I Did Not Compromise My Principles’  —  President George W. Bush Says He Will Leave Office With ‘Head Held High’  —  Looking back on his eight years in the White House, President George W. Bush pinpointed incorrect intelligence that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction as …

David Gregory To Moderate “Meet The Press”  —  David Gregory will take the reins as moderator of NBC's “Meet the Press,” the Huffington Post has learned.  Gregory has been a leading contender for the permanent spot since Tom Brokaw stepped in as interim moderator following Tim Russert's death in June.

Fox News shut out again at Obama press conference.  —  Fishbowl DC has been keeping tabs of which media outlets have been allowed to ask a question at President-elect Barack Obama's five press conferences so far.  They report Fox News is 0-5.  “Questions instead went to such outlets as ABC …

The Curious Retention of Robert Gates  —  Barack Obama's national security team—at this early stage—presents more questions than answers.  His selection of Hillary Clinton to be secretary of state has been a much-chewed-over topic of pundit puzzlement.  And with the Monday morning unveiling …

Credit-card industry may cut $2 trillion lines: analyst  —  (Reuters) - The U.S. credit-card industry may pull back well over $2 trillion of lines over the next 18 months due to risk aversion and regulatory changes, leading to sharp declines in consumer spending, prominent banking analyst Meredith Whitney said.

Memeorandum runs rings around Google News  —  If you want to know what's happening in the world, then Memorandum will tell you - at least in a couple of areas.  It's an automated news clipping service, known in the trade as a “news aggregator”.  It provides headlines and short texts updated every few minutes …

Deepak Blames America  —  The media look within to explain the sick delusions of the Mumbai killers.  —  If the Mumbai terror assault seemed exceptional, and shocking in its targets, it was clear from the Thanksgiving Day reports that we weren't going to be deprived of the familiar, either.

Team Obama: New National Security Adviser, Jim Jones, Puts Energy First  —  U.S. presidents have been talking about energy security and searching for an energy policy since Nixon was popular.  By tapping General James Jones as his national security adviser, President-elect Barack Obama …

Liberals: Dion would be PM  —  VIDEO: Tories toss policy, release secret tapes  —  Liberal Leader Stephane Dion shakes hands with caucus members following a caucus meeting on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa Monday Dec. 1, 2008.  The Liberals have said they have agreed to form a coalition government …

Not resigning  —  “Senator Clinton intends to remain in office through confirmation,” emails spokesman Philippe Reines.  —  UPDATE: Says New York Governor David Paterson in a statement: “In order to appoint the best possible candidate to replace Senator Clinton, I am consulting with a wide variety …

India Security Faulted as Survivors Tell of Terror  —  At Tourist Haunts and Train Station, Swiftly Launched Assault Overwhelmed Police; Home Affairs Minister Steps Down  —  MUMBAI — As waiters started setting dinner buffets in Mumbai's luxurious hotels, the killings that would ravage …

If Matthews Is Mulling A Senate Run, He Shouldn't Be On The Air  —  If Chris Matthews is seriously considering a run for Arlen Specter's Senate seat, he shouldn't be on the air right now.  —  One of the reasons millions of people rely on NBC as a news source is that it's objective and driven by a fidelity to covering the news.

Muslim graveyard refuses to bury terrorists in Mumbai  —  Nico Hines, and Rhys Blakely in Mumbai  —  A Muslim graveyard in the heart of Mumbai has broken with Islamic tradition and refused to bury the bodies of nine terrorists who were killed during the attack on India's financial capital.

Cheap sex - the credit crunch is biting under the sheets  —  As the credit crunch bites, Britons may be turning to sex as a cheap way to pass the time, a charity says.  —  A YouGov survey of 2,000 adults found sex was the most popular free activity, ahead of window shopping and gossiping.

The Cabinet Possibilities Who Are Saying ‘No, Thanks’ (for Now)  —  We took a break from handicapping who's in the running for jobs in President-elect Barack Obama's administration to scour the public record and find contenders who have taken themselves out of consideration.

Jeb Bush to GOP: Don't Become ‘Democrat-Lite’  —  Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush tells Newsmax that the GOP must broaden its appeal to avoid becoming “the old white-guy party,” and recommends that Republicans create a “shadow government” to engage Democrats on important issues …

Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford arrested on federal charges  —  Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford was arrested this morning on federal charges and is being held at the federal courthouse, the FBI and other federal officials confirm.  —  A special grand jury for several months …