$14B auto bailout dies in Senate  —  WASHINGTON - A bailout-weary Congress killed a $14 billion package to aid struggling U.S. automakers Thursday night after a partisan dispute over union wage cuts derailed a last-ditch effort to revive the emergency aid before year's end.

Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel ducks reporters' questions  —  President-elect Barack Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, refused to take questions from reporters this morning about whether he was the Obama “advisor” named in the criminal complaint against Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Report Blames Rumsfeld for Detainee Abuses  —  WASHINGTON — A report released Thursday by leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee said top Bush administration officials, including Donald H. Rumsfeld, the former defense secretary, bore major responsibility for the abuses committed …

Blagojevich Left Legal Bills Unpaid  —  CHICAGO — The criminal complaint against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich alleges that he complained about financial troubles.  Those problems include more than $500,000 in unpaid legal bills, according to people familiar with the matter.

Powell: GOP ‘polarization’ backfired in election  —  (CNN) — The Republican party must stop “shouting at the world” and start listening to minority groups if it is to win elections in the 21st century, former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday.  —  In an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria …

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.

DEMINT WARNS OF BAILOUT ‘RIOTS’.... In general, those who warn of dire consequences for the automotive industry tend to support a rescue package.  As the argument goes, the auto manufacturers are the backbone of U.S. manufacturing, and the collapse of the industry could have devastating ripple effects in the midst of a financial crisis.

Nosedive  —  Another day, another terrifying economic report, this time on unemployment claims.  —  So are we now losing jobs at the rate of 600,000 a month?  700,000?  If fiscal expansion takes, say, 8 months to kick in (and that's optimistic), where will that leave us?

McCain pollster: Wright wouldn't have worked  —  John McCain's top pollster, Bill McInturff, said this evening that attacking Barack Obama over his relationship with Rev. Jeremiah Wright would not have helped McCain's campaign and could have destroyed his presidency, had he been elected.

In Senate recount, wrongly rejected votes seem more numerous than first thought  —  At least 358 Minnesotans did everything right on their absentee ballots — they sent them in on time, signed them where they should have and were properly registered — but their votes were not counted.

Madoff Charged in $50 Billion Fraud at Advisory Firm  —  A A A  —  Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) — Bernard Madoff, founder and president of a New York firm that invested funds for wealthy individuals, hedge funds and other institutions, was charged with operating what he told employees …