Minneapolis discovery costs Franken 46 votes  —  What Maplewood giveth, Minneapolis taketh away.  —  Elections officials in Minnesota's largest city today discovered that one precinct came up 133 ballots short of election day totals, resulting in a net loss for Democratic challenger Al Franken of 46 votes.

Obama or an Obama-Impersonator?  Ros-Lehtinen Flubs the Call  —  Twice on Wednesday, President-elect Barack Obama tried to reach across the partisan divide with a phone call to Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican from Florida.  —  And twice, according to her office, she hung up on him.

We need to stop using the bailouts to rebuild gigantic financial institutions.  —  Last month, as the financial crisis and the government rescue plan dominated headlines, almost everyone overlooked a news item that could have enormous long-term impact: GE Capital announced the acquisition …

U.A.W. Makes Concessions in Bid to Help Automakers  —  WASHINGTON — The United Automobile Workers union said Wednesday that it would make major concessions in its contracts with the three Detroit auto companies to help them lobby Congress for $34 billion in federal aid.

Mumbai police to use truth serum on ‘baby-faced’ terrorist Azam Amir Kasab  —  Indian police interrogators are preparing to administer a “truth serum” on the sole Islamic militant captured during last week's terror attacks on Mumbai to settle once and for all the question of where he is from.

NO TRANSITION FROM NONESENSE  —  Congressional Quarterly bemoans Obama's broken promise of a bipartisan cabinet since he's only appointed one Republican to one of the top three positions in government — State, Defense and Treasury ...  I guess maybe it's a slow news period and there's not much to write about.

RENDELL APOLOGIZES FOR AZ GOV COMMENT  —  From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum  —  During a news conference on budget reductions today, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) apologized for a hot mic statement he made yesterday, saying Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) is perfect for the position …

U.S. Eyes Plan to Lift Home Sales  —  Treasury Considers Encouraging Banks to Offer Mortgages at Rates as Low as 4.5%  —  WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department is considering a plan to revitalize the U.S. home market that would push down interest rates for loans to purchase a home, according to people familiar with the matter.

Russian warship to cross Panama Canal … MOSCOW (AP) - A Russian warship will sail through the Panama Canal this week for the first time since World War II, the navy announced Wednesday, pushing ahead with a symbolic projection of Moscow's power in a traditional U.S. zone of influence.

Rice Says Pakistan Pledges to Help Find Suspects  —  ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that the Pakistani government has pledged to cooperate in rounding up suspects of the Mumbai terror attacks who operated from Pakistani territory or were of Pakistani origin.

Chambliss: Palin Key To My Win (VIDEO)  —  Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss, fresh off his victory in a runoff election against Democrat Jim Martin, says Sarah Palin gave him the boost he needed.  “I can't overstate the impact she had down here,” the Republican Senator said in an interview on Fox News Wednesday morning.

Mukasey Sees No Necessity for Pardons in Terror War  —  WASHINGTON — Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey said Wednesday that he saw no need for President Bush to issue blanket pardons of officials involved in some of the administration's most controversial counterterrorism policies.

Discourse Watch: Obama's Citizenship A Legit Topic?  —  Townhall.com is a mainstream, legitimate, comprehensive, informative, and entertaining conservative news and opinion magazine and website.  Disclosure: they've written nice things about me.  To liberals and non-conservatives, their content can sometimes be edgy.

Holder pardon makes Dems squirm  —  Eric Holder's role in the pardon of Marc Rich is unlikely to derail his nomination as attorney general, but it will give Senate Republicans a chance to make their Democratic colleagues squirm.  —  With a confirmation hearing at least a month away …

School cancels Christmas nativity in favour of Muslim Eid celebrations  —  A primary school has cancelled its Christmas nativity in favour of Muslim festival of Eid celebrations because it would be too much for the children to do both.  —  Greenwood Junior School sent out a letter …

The Community Reinvestment Act and the Recent Mortgage Crisis  —  Good morning.  I am pleased to welcome you to the Board and even more pleased to introduce today's discussion of the study conducted by the Federal Reserve System's Community Affairs program in partnership with The Brookings Institution …

Why Is the Left So Threated By My Poll?  —  Writer/Director/Producer, “Blocking the Path to 9/11″  —  It has been quite a strange couple of weeks since I decided to commission a Zogby poll of Obama voters.  I chose to do this at great personal expense to determine whether interviews …