Blagojevich's Legal Bills Top $500,000  —  CHICAGO — The criminal complaint against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich repeatedly refers to his family's financial troubles.  Those problems include more than $500,000 in unpaid legal bills, according to people familiar with the matter.

Auto Bailout Appears Dead in Senate as G.O.P. Resists  —  WASHINGTON — The prospects of a $14 billion government rescue of the American auto industry seemed to vaporize Thursday morning as the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, spoke out forcefully against the bill …

NASA has become a transition problem for Obama  —  CAPE CANAVERAL - NASA administrator Mike Griffin is not cooperating with President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, is obstructing its efforts to get information and has told its leader that she is “not qualified” to judge his rocket program, the Orlando Sentinel has learned.

The Unreal Bill Ayers  —  Three Decades After the Weather Underground's End, He's Still Justifying Its Means  —  I never thought Barack Obama's acquaintance with former Weather Underground leader Bill Ayers disqualified him for the White House.  And now that Obama has been elected …

Obama's atomic umbrella: U.S. nuclear strike if Iran nukes Israel  —  U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's administration will offer Israel a “nuclear umbrella” against the threat of a nuclear attack by Iran, a well-placed American source said earlier this week.

FIRST THOUGHTS: NO ORDINARY HONEYMOON  —  From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann  —  *** No ordinary honeymoon: While the political world continues to focus on the Blagojevich scandal, which at this point has been only a headache for the incoming Obama administration …

Obama's Health Care Briefing  —  The following is a transcript of Barack Obama's press conference about his health care team and the Blagojevich scandal, as transcribed by CQ Transcriptions.  —  Speakers:  —  President-elect Barack Obama  —  Former Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota

Asking questions, and flagging them  —  A couple of analysts whose opinions I respect, including John Cole, criticized my item yesterday on what I see as an abuse of the “flagging” function on Obama's “Open for Questions” site.  —  I wrote about the ability of some readers to take a highly rated …

How the GOP Should Prepare for a Comeback  —  Organization and ideas are what matters.  —  What a difference a month makes.  Since November's election, the GOP is three wins, no losses.  —  The first win came in Georgia, where Sen. Saxby Chambliss crushed his Democratic opponent by 15 points in a run-off election on Dec. 2.

CAROLINE ‘EQUALS J.LO’: DEM  —  REP. TAKES SWIPE AT CAMELOT CELEB POWER  —  ALBANY - A prominent New York Democratic congressman publicly questioned Caroline Kennedy's credentials to replace Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, saying she's no more qualified to hold office than Jennifer Lopez.

North Dakota tops analysis of corruption  —  WASHINGTON — Its largest city is legendary for machine-style politics and its elected leaders have been under investigation for years, but by one measure, Illinois is not even close to the nation's most-corrupt state.  —  North Dakota, it turns out, may hold that distinction instead.

Web mistake costly for George W. Bush Library  —  kmbrooks@dallasnews.com  —  AUSTIN - After losing a valuable piece of online real estate to enterprising cyber-squatters, the Bush presidential library has replanted its flag into that e-territory.  —  But the squatters …

UN Blowback: More Than 650 International Scientists Dissent Over Man-Made Global Warming Claims  —  Study: Half of warming due to Sun!  -Sea Levels Fail to Rise?  - Warming Fears in ‘Dustbin of History’  —  POZNAN, Poland - The UN global warming conference currently underway in Poland …

Union Linked to Corruption Scandal  —  The Service Employees International Union has long boasted that it is on the cutting edge of the labor movement.  But it found itself badly embarrassed this week when it was linked by name to Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich's maneuvering to secure some financial gain …

The Mattress Stuffers  —  As the financial crisis swept across the nation these past few months, one of the first microtrend groups to emerge is the New Mattress Stuffers — people who have lost their trust in the financial world, and are preparing for the next meltdown.

Whitewashing Fannie Mae  —  Congress begins its self-absolution campaign.  —  Henry Waxman's House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform met Tuesday to examine “The Role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the Financial Crisis.”  Alas, Mr. Waxman didn't come to bury Fan and Fred, but to bury the truth.