Franken Gets Big Win At Canvass Board  —  Al Franken's chances of winning the Minnesota recount may have just gone up astronomically.  —  The state canvassing board just voted unanimously that absentee ballots that were initially rejected because of clerical errors — and the current estimate …

Emanuel: I'm Getting Death Threats Over Blagojevich Scandal  —  Obama's Chief of Staff Refuses to Go to Work Because of Media Stakeout  —  The President-elect's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, said today he won't go to the Chicago Presidential transition offices in order to avoid reporters seeking …

Chapter 11 is the right road for US carmakers  —  The debate about whether or not to bail out the Big Three carmakers has been mischaracterised.  It has been described as a package to help the undeserving dinosaurs of Detroit.  In fact, a plan to bail out the carmakers would benefit shareholders …

McCain Campaign Sells Info-Loaded Blackberry to FOX 5 Reporter  —  Exclusive FOX 5 Investigation  —  ARLINGTON, Va. - Private information at bargain prices.  It was a high-tech flub at the McCain-Palin campaign headquarters in Arlington when Fox 5's Investigative Reporter Tisha Thompson bought …

Rendell slams Obama over Blago  —  Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell today criticized Barack Obama for not being more upfront about the Illinois corruption scandal.  —  Now, he said, the story will continue to dominate the media's attention.  —  “They have never been in an executive position before …

The Pragmatist  —  In case you haven't heard, Barack Obama is a pragmatist.  Everybody agrees on this.  Joe Biden, accepting Obama's nod as VP at his unveiling event in Springfield, Illinois, called him a “clear-eyed pragmatist.”  Describing Obama's rise through Chicago politics …

Sorry, We're Booked, White House Tells Obamas  —  Michelle, Malia and Sasha Obama met Barack Obama's campaign plane in Colorado on Nov. 1.  (Photo: Damon Winter/The New York Times)  —  Updated |  3:12 p.m. CHICAGO—The White House has turned down a request from the family …

Madigan to court: Remove Blagojevich  —  Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan speaks at a news conference at the Thompson Center today.  (Tribune / Zbigniew Bzdak)  —  Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan called on the Illinois Supreme Court today to temporarily remove Gov. Rod Blagojevich from office …

Evangelical Leader Quits Over Gay Union Remark  —  A prominent evangelical lobbyist resigned yesterday over his remarks in a National Public Radio interview, in which he said he supports permitting same-sex civil unions.  —  The Rev. Richard Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs …

PA-Sen: Specter shows weakness in primary and general  —  Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 12/8-10.  Likely voters.  MoE 4% for general election matchups, 5% for primary matchups (No trend lines) … Toomey is itching to go after Specter again after falling just short in 2004 …

Robin Toner, Times Reporter, Is Dead  —  Robin Toner, who was the first woman to be the national political correspondent of The New York Times and who had a significant hand in the coverage of five presidential elections, innumerable Congressional and gubernatorial campaigns …

22 Pounds of UAW Rules and Regulations  —  Ever wondered what a UAW contract looks like?  Here is all 22 pounds of it (in this case, Ford's 2,215 page 2007 master contract; Coke can is for scale and because I was thirsty).  —  I'll tell you this much, those 2,215 pages don't include much regarding efficiency and competitiveness.

GOP warned to embrace technology or face ‘suicide’  —  (CNN) — When Michigan GOP Chairman Saul Anuzis decided to throw his hat in the ring to head the Republican Party, he announced his intentions on an unlikely forum: Twitter.  —  Not too long ago, the social networking Web site …

Blagojevich chief of staff Harris resigns  —  John Harris resigned this morning as Gov. Rod Blagojevich's chief of staff, his lawyer said.  —  Harris dropped off his letter of resignation today in person and will not be going back to the office, according to his lawyer, Terry Ekl.

THOUGHTS ON THE BAILOUT FLAMEOUT  —  A few thoughts on this morning's news.  —  Not surprisingly, with this morning's news, we're getting more than a few emails arguing that the Democrats, in their new position of strength, should weaken or entirely do away with the filibuster — i.e. …

Ten Silver Stars for Afghan battle  —  10 Special Forces soldiers honored for seven-hour firefight with insurgents  —  WASHINGTON - After jumping out of helicopters at daybreak onto jagged, ice-covered rocks and into water at an altitude of 10,000 feet, the 12-man Special Forces team scrambled …

Mich. Gov.: Vote Against Auto Bailout “Un-American”  —  Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) said it was “un-American” for senators to have voted against approving a bailout of troubled automakers last night, saying their vote may cause a recession to become a depression.

Detroit Dailies to Curtail Home Delivery  —  The publisher of the Detroit Free Press, the country's 20th largest paper by weekday circulation, is expected to announce next week that it will cease home delivery of the print edition of the newspaper on most days of the week, according to a person familiar with the company's thinking.

Gingrich Offers To Be Rep.-Elect Cao's Liaison To The African-American Community  —  Earlier this week, the Times-Picayune profiled the district's new congressman Joseph Cao (R-LA), who beat out the indicted Democratic incumbent William Jefferson.  As the first Vietnamese-American in Congress …