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7:10 PM ET, December 9, 2008

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Huma Khan / Political Punch:
Questions Arise About the Obama/Blagojevich Relationship  —  “Obviously like the rest of the people of Illinois I am saddened and sobered by the news that came out of the US attorney's office today,” said President-elect Obama this afternoon in Chicago, speaking of the criminal complaint …
RELATED:
Chicago Breaking News:
Blagojevich arrested on federal charges  —  Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents for what U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald called a “staggering” level of corruption involving pay-to-play politics in Illinois' top office.
Marc Ambinder:
Blago Indictment: Who Is Senate Candidate 5?  —  Gov. Blagojevich's own words make it clear that he did not believe that Barack Obama wanted a person called “Senate Candidate 5” to be appointed to the Senate. … In other words — if Blago doesn't get what he wanted, then he'd stiff the PEOTUS …
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.
New York Times:
Illinois Governor in Corruption Scandal  —  CHICAGO — Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois was arrested by federal authorities on Tuesday morning on corruption charges, including an allegation that he conspired to effectively sell President-elect Barack Obama's seat in the United States Senate to the highest bidder.
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Blago calls Obama “motherf—er”  —  The tapes reveal a two-term governor who no longer wants his job, badly wants cash and is determined to leverage a financial benefit out of his appointment powers.  —  He also appears to think little of the president-elect, whom he calls a “motherf***er” at one point.
CNN:
Durbin wants special election to replace Obama  —  (CNN) — Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said Tuesday he wants a special election called to fill President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat.  —  At a press conference with reporters on Capitol Hill, Durbin said he wants the Illinois legislature …
Carol E. Lee / The Politico:
Attorney: Blagojevich has no plans of resigning  —  CHICAGO— The attorney for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said the governor will be vindicated and he has no plans to resign.  —  “He didn't do anything wrong,” attorney Sheldon Sorosky told reporters after Blagojevich was arraigned.
Chicago Breaking News:
Lt. Gov. Quinn urges Blagojevich to ‘step aside’  —  Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn today called on Gov. Rod Blagojevich to step aside, at least temporarily, because the governor is “seriously impeded from carrying out his oath of office.”  —  “I think that should certainly be considered by the governor today.
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
‘Senate Candidate 5’  —  Capitol Fax's Rich Miller updates the state of the speculation on the identity of “Senate Candidate 5,” the public official who — from the complaint — appears to be in the most jeopardy, aside from Blagojevich and Harris.  “Senate Candidate 5.”
Discussion: Reuters
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Source: ‘SEIU official’ was Stern  —  A Democratic source confirms that SEIU President Andy Stern is the “SEIU official” referred to in the federal complaint against Rod Blagojevich.  —  There's no allegation that the SEIU official did anything wrong, and what appears to be a wiretap transcript …
Chicago Tribune:
Statement from Gerould Kern, editor of the Chicago Tribune  —  Gov. Rod Blagojevich arrives at the Tribune Tower on Monday for an interview at CNN's Chicago office.  (Tribune photo by Nancy Stone / December 8, 2008)  —  The Chicago Tribune investigated allegations of misconduct involving Illinois …
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
What the transition knew  —  The transition hasn't yet responded to questions about Rod Blagojevich's indictment, but the key question is whether the transition was talking to prosecutors, whether Obama and Valerie Jarrett knew that Blagojevich had offered her the Senate seat in exchange for a labor job …
Jonathan Martin / Ben Smith's Blogs:   Blago wanted to shake down Warren Buffett
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
AMAZING  —  Even setting aside the primordial level of corruption …
Discussion: marbury
Chicago Sun Times:
Charges: Illinois Governor Blagojevich shook down the Chicago Tribune
Discussion: Braublog
Marc Ambinder:   Blago Indictment And The Obama Team
Jonathan Stein / MoJoBlog:
So. Who Will Appoint the Next Illinois Senator?
Katie Allison Granju:
Note to President-Elect Obama: just tell the truth
Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs
Edwin Eisendrath / The Huffington Post:
Now, Finally, We Can Clean Up This State
Associated Press:
Ill. governor arrested in corruption scandal
Discussion: The Politico and Big Brass Blog
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Blagojevich Criminal Complaint: The Best of the Best
Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
Blago Can Still Make The Appointment
Jeffrey Toobin In / New Yorker:   HOT SEAT  —  Otto Kerner, Jr., is usually remembered …
A1 WBBM Local Stories:
Lawmakers Already Calling For Blago Impeachment
David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:   CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR  —  This is Gov. Blagojevich yesterday …
Marist Poll:
Voters Weigh In: Cuomo and Kennedy Deadlocked for Clinton Seat  —  High Hopes for Secretary of State Clinton  —  This Marist Poll reports:  —  · Cuomo and Kennedy Tie...More Than a Quarter of Voters Unsure About Clinton's Replacement: While much of the buzz …
RELATED:
CNN:
Court: Craig can't withdraw sex-sting plea  —  (CNN) — The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected U.S. Sen. Larry Craig's effort to withdraw his guilty plea to a misdemeanor offense of disorderly conduct in connection with a sex-sting operation.  —  “Because we see no abuse …
Discussion: Washington Monthly and TalkLeft
RELATED:
Steve Karnowski / Associated Press:   Sen. Craig loses appeal in airport sex sting case
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
A tip from Rahm?  —  Jack Connaty, of Chicago's Fox affiliate, reported this morning:  —  We did receive a tip this morning that perhaps all of this came together so quickly because the Governor may have reached out to Rahm Emanuel, the president-elect's chief of staff, in attempting to leverage filling the Senate seat.
Scarecrow / Firedoglake:
Who Needs Republic's Window Manufacturing Workers?  The Whole Country.  —  Update Dec 9 4pm eastern: Bank of America has announced “a limited amount of additional loans” to Republic Windows. -eg  —  Siun has been reporting on the drama unfolding in the Illinois factory of Republic Windows and Doors …
RELATED:
Bloomberg:   Illinois Threat to Bank of America Is Dangerous, Critics Say
 
 
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 More Items: 
The Daily Beast:
The Man Who Brought Down Spitzer by Scott Horton
Victor Davis Hanson / The Corner:
That Was Then, This is Now — II
Discussion: Gawker
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Joe the Plumber: McCain ‘appalled me’
Associated Press:
Ethics panel expands Rangel investigation
Discussion: Hot Air
Bloomberg:
Treasury Bills Trade at Negative Rates as Haven Demand Surges
Discussion: Newshoggers.com
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
QUOTE OF THE DAY.... A new national poll from CNN/Opinion Research …
 Earlier Items: 
William J. Broad / New York Times:
Hidden Travels of the Atomic Bomb
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Steele to conservatives: ‘Wake up people’
Reuters:
Homeowners re-defaulting after getting aid
Discussion: A Blog For All
Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
EXCLUSIVE: Obama's Web presence loses its luster
Matthew Lee / Associated Press:
Cracks appear in Obama foreign policy team
Discussion: TIME.com
 

 
From Techmeme:

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority:
Source: Google has canceled the development of a second-generation Pixel Tablet, planned for release in 2025, due to concerns that it wouldn't sell very well

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is testing a more conversational version of Siri, dubbed “LLM Siri”, with plans to release it in spring 2026 as part of iOS 19 and macOS 16

The Information:
Sources: OpenAI considered making a browser, discussed deals to power AI features on Samsung devices and search on sites and apps from Condé Nast and others

 
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