Scandal Is an Early Test for Obama Team  —  WASHINGTON — When Representative Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois Democrat, began exploring whether she might fill Barack Obama's seat in the United States Senate, she called Rahm Emanuel.  They served in the House together and, more important …

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.

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.

Daschle also to oversee new health reform office  —  WASHINGTON — Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle will pull double duty in the Obama administration, where he will serve not only as the Health and Human Services secretary but also oversee a new White House Office of Health Reform.

CORRUPTION MOST FOUL  —  Revisiting the Timeless Principles of Corruption in Politics  —  After reading the federal criminal complaint filed against the Illinois governor this past Tuesday we at The Crystal Ball could think only one thing: Willie Stark, meet Rod Blagojevich.

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 …

Trickledown Downsizing  —  IN September, Cathy DeVore, a real estate agent in Larchmont, N.Y., whose business has been at a standstill lately, began taking gradual steps to lay off her longtime nanny and housekeeper.  Aware that the woman supports a son, a mother, and a niece in Dominica …

The ‘Green Jobs’ Myth  —  European workers aren't believers.  —  From today's Wall Street Journal Europe  —  The United Nations is huddling in Poznan, Poland, this week to negotiate a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, but the real news is that part of the global “consensus” on climate change seems to be unraveling.

Cleaning Service Used by Chertoff Calls Immigration Laws Unfair  —  Every few weeks for nearly four years, the Secret Service screened the IDs of employees for a Maryland cleaning company before they entered the house of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, the nation's top immigration official.

A Spy CEO for Obama  —  What should President-elect Barack Obama do about the intelligence community?  He has appointed the other top members of his national security team, but intrigue still surrounds his choices for director of national intelligence and director of the CIA.

Newsweek to Cut Back Staff, Slim Magazine in Makeover  —  Newsweek magazine is planning staff cuts as part of a major makeover that is likely to result in a slimmer publication with fewer subscribers and more photos and opinion inside its pages, according to people close to the magazine.

Bankruptcy Doesn't Equal Death  —  The auto industry could use the process to get competitive.  —  The spectacle of corporate magnates from Detroit pleading to be on Uncle Sam's dole is a sordid one.  So why aren't more Americans appalled?  One reason is widespread misunderstanding …

Rod Blagojevich shows foulmouthed side  —  Etiquette experts say such language still unprofessional  —  If the wiretapped dialogue in the criminal complaint against Rod Blagojevich reveals anything, it's that the governor can deftly hold his own in the pantheon of political profanity.

Surprise flurries warm Houston hearts  —  Fluffy flakes bring delight to some, consternation to others — and tie a 64-year-old record  —  Falling snowflakes glimmered in streetlights, so wide that they billowed to the ground like parachutes, and so tantalizing that even awestruck adults reached …

Jobless claims jump to 573,000, a 26-year high  —  Continuing claims spike by 338,000 to 4.43 million  —  WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The U.S. labor market weakened further last week, with the number of first-time filings for state unemployment benefits jumping by 58,000 to a 26-year high of 573,000 …