Rahm Emanuel, Blagojevich staff talked  —  Rahm Emanuel, President-elect Barack Obama's pick to be White House chief of staff, had conversations with Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration about who would replace Obama in the U.S. Senate, the Tribune has learned.

New York Housing Chief Is Chosen for Cabinet  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama has picked the widely respected housing commissioner for New York City, Shaun Donovan, to be the secretary of housing in his cabinet.  —  Assuming that Mr. Donovan, 42, is confirmed by the Senate …

They Can't Be That Desperate  —  Dear God: … I honestly don't know quite how to deal with this.  Over the past year I have strained and even broken treasured friendships over the idea that allowing a Republican to win over a Democrat, no matter how bad he or she is …

Sorry, Obamas, Early Check-In Isn't Available  —  CHICAGO — To the list of people having trouble finding somewhere in Washington to stay in early January, there can now be added one more entry: the Obama family.  —  President Bush's aides have turned down a request from President-elect Barack Obama …

Now Accused of Fraud, Wall St. Wizard Had His Skeptics  —  For years, investors, rivals and regulators all wondered how Bernard L. Madoff worked his magic.  —  But on Friday, less than 24 hours after this prominent Wall Street figure was arrested on charges connected with what authorities portrayed …

Gates, in Iraq, Affirms Pullout Goal  —  BALAD, Iraq — In an unannounced trip to Iraq on Saturday, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates met with the top American military commander, Gen. Ray Odierno, and reiterated the pledge made in an agreement with the Iraqi government to withdraw all American troops by the end of 2011.

Blago could decide future by Monday  —  Gov. Blagojevich will decide early next week — perhaps as early as Monday — whether he should resign, a source close to the governor told the Chicago Sun-Times.  —  “He was blindsided by this,” the source said.  “He needs some time to digest what's going on.

Big donors to get tickets to swearing-in  —  President-elect Obama's inaugural committee is inviting supporters to give as much as $50,000 or raise as much as $300,000 to underwrite the festivities, and is offering incentives that include tough-to-get spots at the swearing-in ceremony.

The Other American Auto Industry  —  Plenty of car makers make a go of it in this country—they're just non-union and not headquartered in Detroit.  —  Drew Ferguson IV is a 42-year-old dentist whose family has lived in this town, population 3,300, “since God put us here.”

Even Chicago's Crooks Are Appalled by Blagojevich  —  Extorting Children's Hospital is a new political low.  —  Chicago  —  Chicagoans and Illinoisans love political scandal the way that Milanese love opera.  —  We trade recollections, like baseball cards, about the secretary of state …

Ecuador defaults on foreign debt  —  Ecuador is to default officially on billions of dollars of foreign debt it considers “illegitimate”, says President Rafael Correa.  —  Mr Correa said he had given the order not to approve a debt interest payment due on Monday, describing the international lenders as “monsters”.

GOP: ‘ACTION ALERT - AUTO BAILOUT’  —  Countdown has obtained a memo entitled “Action Alert - Auto Bailout,” and sent Wednesday at 9:12am, to Senate Republicans.  The names of the sender(s) and recipient(s) have been redacted in the copy Countdown obtained.