McCain Campaign Spent $110,000 on Palin's Stylists  —  Gov. Sarah Palin's traveling makeup artist was paid $68,400 and her hair stylist received more than $42,000 for roughly two months of work, according to a new campaign finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Jobless Rate Soars to 6.7% in November  —  With the economy deteriorating rapidly, the nation's employers shed 533,000 jobs in November, the 11th consecutive monthly decline, the government reported Friday morning, and the unemployment rate rose to 6.7 percent.

‘At Least Bush Kept Us Safe’  —  The two words Democrats don't want tacked onto that sentence.  —  Washington  —  To drive through the suburbs of Northern Virginia is to marvel still at the widespread wealth, the mansions and mini-mansions that did not exist a quarter-century ago and that now thicken the woods and hills.

The Note, 12/05/08: Another Senator Kennedy?  —  ABC News' Jonathan Karl, filling in for Rick Klein today Reports: The Big Three can't win for losing and it seems Barney Frank is already fed up with Barack Obama.  But first, an exclusive from The Note.  —  Another Senator Kennedy?

Milestone in Baghdad  —  The barbarism in Mumbai and the economic crisis at home have largely overshadowed an otherwise singular event: the ratification of military and strategic cooperation agreements between Iraq and the United States.  —  They must not pass unnoted.

Who Will He Choose?  —  As in many other areas, the biggest education debates are happening within the Democratic Party.  On the one hand, there are the reformers like Joel Klein and Michelle Rhee, who support merit pay for good teachers, charter schools and tough accountability standards.

If It's Not Your Fault, Then How Come You're So Rich?  —  One notion gaining in popularity among writers for publications likely to be read by members of the financial elite is that maybe this whole “finding out who's responsible for this giant catastrophe” business is a mistake.

SCOTUS considers Obama citizenship  —  The U.S. Supreme Court will decide Friday whether to take up a case over president-elect Barack Obama's citizenship — one of a few around the country seeking to nullify his election, but this one has an interesting lineage.

Critics rap MSNBC, Matthews  —  MSNBC and its talk show host Chris Matthews are coming under increasing criticism as more and more details have emerged to reveal the extent of the pundit's preparations to challenge Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.

Team of Heavyweights  —  President-elect Barack Obama has appointed an extraordinary team for national security policy.  On its face, it violates certain maxims of conventional wisdom: that appointing to the Cabinet individuals with an autonomous constituency, and who therefore are difficult to fire …

Issues Pressing, Obama Fills Top Posts at a Sprint  —  CHICAGO — The call summoning him was somewhat cryptic.  Only after Gen. James L. Jones showed up in a hotel suite for a one-on-one meeting with Barack Obama did it become clear what was going on.  —  Would General Jones be interested in a senior national security job?

Obama's choice of Xavier Becerra revives 2001 clemency case  —  Becerra, offered the post of U.S. trade representative, was involved in the 2001 commutation of a prison sentence for cocaine dealer Carlos Vignali.  So was attorney general nominee Eric Holder.

Bill O'Reilly to give up radio show, one of the nation's most listened to  —  Bill O'Reilly has formally confirmed he's giving up one of the most successful syndicated radio shows in the country, saying he has just run out of hours in the week.  —  O'Reilly said the radio show …

School buds: 20 Harvard classmates advising Obama  —  As Barack Obama puts together his administration, more than 20 Harvard Law School classmates dot the ranks of his transition team — solidifying the Crimson connection as his most enduring, yet least-known, personal network.

Stuart Taylor: Obama Should Conduct Illegal Surveillance  —  A pretty stunning Stuart Taylor column in the National Journal: … Kicking the term “Bush critics” around is a huge red herring in this context.  Bush is going to be out of office on January 20th.

Next on Obama's Dance Card, Mother Nature  —  The Obama transition team, moving along smartly to fill Cabinet posts, is planning to trot out nominees as early as next week for three jobs much watched by enviros: the secretaries of energy and the interior and the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

“We were lined up and shot,” Mumbai family tells ordeal (Feature)  —  View blog reactions  —  Typical.  —  Murders happen at least 17,000 times in the United States per year every year.  I imagine that each one is essentially just as violent and misguided as is what is described here.

Cabinet Picks Not Affecting Overall Confidence in Obama  —  Throughout transition, two-thirds of Americans consistently confident  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' positive reactions to President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet appointments this week have not yet translated into a more general boost …

Chasing Stiglitz  —  Obama's economic team is missing the one guy who's been right all along.  —  OK, enough with the Obamamania already.  I have a major bone to pick with our all-praised president-elect.  Where, Mr. Obama, is Joseph Stiglitz?  Most pundits have pretty much gone ga-ga …