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Chicago Breaking News:
Blagojevich arrested on federal charges — Updated at 9:17 a.m.: Blagojevich also was alleged to be using a favors list, made up largely of individuals and firms that have state contracts or received taxpayer benefits, from which to conduct a $2.5 million fundraising drive before year's end.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Scorecard's Blogs, MSNBC, Hot Air, Taegan Goddard's …, BuzzFlash.org, Hotline On Call, Political Machine, Gateway Pundit, Lost in Transition, protein wisdom, First Draft, Don Surber, Sunlight Foundation, TIME.com, Wonkette, Real Clear Politics, The Agonist, TPMMuckraker and Capitol Annex
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Chicago Tribune:
Blagojevich's Senate selection process investigated — Federal probe widens to Obama's vacant seat — UPDATE: Source: Feds take Gov. Blagojevich into custody — A source said today that Gov. Rod Blagojevich was taken into federal custody at his North Side home this morning.
WBBM-TV:
Details Of Complaint Against Blagojevich — CHICAGO (CBS) ― Full release from U.S. Attorney's Office: — Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff, John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges alleging that they and others are engaging …
Monica Davey / New York Times:
Governor Is Held in Inquiry Into Filling Obama's Seat — Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois was arrested on Tuesday morning and charged with corruption, including an allegation that he conspired to profit from his authority to appoint President-elect Barack Obama's successor in the United States Senate, prosecutors said.
Mike Robinson / Associated Press:
Ill. Gov. arrested in Obama successor probe — CHICAGO - Federal authorities arrested Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich Tuesday on charges that he brazenly conspired to sell or trade the Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama to the highest bidder.
Chicago Tribune:
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich arrested — Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges. — Tribune staff report — Gov. Rod Blagojevich arrives at the Tribune Tower for an interview with CNN in Chicago.
MSNBC:
Ill. governor arrested on corruption charges — Feds: Blagojevich sought to profit from choosing Obama's Senate successor — WASHINGTON - Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday on charges of conspiring to get financial benefits through his authority to appoint a U.S. senator …
Natasha Korecki / Chicago Sun Times:
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich taken into federal custody — Gov. Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris were arrested at their homes this morning in a probe involving the governor's quest to fill Sen. Barack Obama's Senate seat. — The charges also include alleged attempts …
CNN:
Feds: Blagojevich put ‘for sale’ sign on Obama replacement — (CNN) — Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is in federal custody on corruption charges, a law enforcement official said Tuesday. — Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, are charged with conspiracy to commit mail …
WBBM-TV:
Gov. Rod Blagojevich Arrested On Federal Charges — CHICAGO (CBS) ― Authorities in Chicago have arrested Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich on federal charges. — U.S. Attorney's office spokesman Randall Samborn says both Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris were arrested Tuesday.
Christy Hardin Smith / Firedoglake:
Blagojevich And Chief Of Staff Indicted For Attempting To Sell Obama's Senate Seat
Blagojevich And Chief Of Staff Indicted For Attempting To Sell Obama's Senate Seat
Discussion:
TigerHawk
Matthew Lee / Associated Press:
Cracks appear in Obama foreign policy team … WASHINGTON (AP) - The first sign of cracks in President-elect Barack Obama's foreign policy team of rivals emerged on Monday as his choices for secretary of state and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations visited the State Department.
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Kris Kitto / The Hill:
Breitbart's big, red Hollywood — After playing supporting roles to big names in media and politics, Andrew Breitbart is poised to become the protagonist in his own story. — The publisher of the online news aggregator Breitbart.com helped launch and run two of today's most influential media …
Paul Steinhauser / CNN:
Poll: 79% approve of way Obama is handling transition — WASHINGTON (CNN) — With six weeks before taking office, President-elect Barack Obama is having one heck of a honeymoon, a new national poll suggests. — Nearly eight in 10 Americans questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey …
Peter Nicholas / Los Angeles Times:
For Bush's staff, upbeat talking points on his tenure — Administration officials get a memo from the White House suggesting what to say about the last eight years: President Bush upheld ‘the honor and the dignity of his office,’ for one. — Reporting from Washington …
Discussion:
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David Mildenberg / Bloomberg:
Illinois Governor Halts Business With Bank of America — A A A — Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) — Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich said the state will suspend business with Bank of America Corp. until the lender restores credit to the shuttered Republic Windows & Doors company in Chicago where workers are staging a sit-in.
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Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
AMAZING — Even setting aside the primordial level of corruption of trying to sell the senate seat of the President-elect of the United States, I never fail to be amazed at the brazenness and stupidity of some political crooks. I mean, I think everyone involved in politics or interested …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
Reuters:
Homeowners re-defaulting after getting aid — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Recent data suggests that many borrowers who received help with mortgage modifications earlier this year tended to re-default on their payments, a top U.S. banking regulator said on Monday.
The Politico:
Boehner: Future of GOP is Cao — One week ago, most Republicans had never heard of Anh “Joseph” Cao. Those who were aware he was challenging Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) thought he had almost no chance of winning. Not a single Republican in the state's congressional delegation donated to his campaign.
Discussion:
New Orleans Times-Picayune, Washington Post, Scorecard's Blogs, Real Clear Politics and New York Times
Jeanne Cummings / The Politico:
Did Democrats peak too early? — Did the Democrats' exile end too soon? — That may be a question that nags at more than a few party activists once all the partying is done. — Democrats have clearly come a long way in rebuilding their party infrastructure since falling from power in the late 1990s.
Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
EXCLUSIVE: Obama's Web presence loses its luster — Viewership for President-elect Barack Obama's weekly YouTube “fireside chats” has tanked, dropping more than 50 percent since his initial video three weeks ago. — “I've heard a lot of puffed-up rhetoric about how this is going to change …
Discussion:
Townhall.com
Christopher Hitchens / Slate:
The media's disingenuous failure to state the obvious. — The obvious is sometimes the most difficult thing to discern, and few things are more amusing than the efforts of our journals of record to keep “open” minds about the self-evident, and thus to create mysteries when the real task of reportage is to dispel them.