For immediate release  —  The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to establish a target range for the federal funds rate of 0 to 1/4 percent.  —  Since the Committee's last meeting, labor market conditions have deteriorated, and the available data indicate that consumer spending …

Blagojevich Impeachment Inquiry Stalls  —  SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A committee of the Illinois House considering evidence and testimony in an impeachment inquiry against Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich adjourned its first day of hearings after about an hour on Tuesday, after the governor's lawyer …

Newt denounces Blago attacks  —  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is denouncing Republican attempts to link President-elect Barack Obama and disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.  —  Senator John McCain Sunday distanced himself from Republican National Committee attacks on Obama …

Jackson, Jr. may have been working with feds to investigate gov.  —  Jackson has been fighting for his reputation since the federal complaint revealed his supporters were willing to raise money for the governor, if Jackson was appointed to the Senate.  —  The new information appears …

GOP probes Holder's role in Elian Gonzales case  —  Senate Republicans have requested information about Attorney General nominee Eric Holder's role in the Elian Gonzales controversy as part of a broad probe into his tenure with the Clinton administration and potential ties to presidential scandals during that era.

NBC's Whitaker on press corps: 'We're going to have to get tougher'  —  During today's press conference, President-elect Obama brushed off a question from Tribune reporter John McCormick about the Blagojevich scandal, and what interaction any advisers had with the Illinois Governor.

Rahm's calls on tape  —  The Blago scandal . . .  Sneed hears rumbles President-elect Barack Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, is reportedly on 21 different taped conversations by the feds — dealing with his boss' vacant Senate seat!  —  A lot of chit-chat?  —  Hot air?  —  Or trouble?

Vilsack Picked for Agriculture Secretary  —  CHICAGO - President-elect Barack Obama has settled on Tom Vilsack, a former governor of Iowa, as his Agriculture Secretary.  The announcement will be made here on Wednesday morning, according to Democrats familiar with the decision …

HOW WE KILLED ZARQAWI.  —  Reuel Marc Gerecht still thinks life is an episode of 24.  “If you had been confronted on 7 September 2001 with a captured Khalid Shaykh Muhammad or Abu Zubaydah,” he says in response to Andrew Sullivan, “and you knew that a major, mass-casualty terrorist strike …

Video: Joe Scarborough rips the Tanning Bed Media  —  Via the Newsbusters, Joe Scarborough belatedly discovers the vast difference in how the media treated Barack Obama and Sarah Palin in this election.  As I mentioned a number of times, the national media rushed to Wasilla to cover …

Clinton chides supporters on Kennedy  —  Hillary Clinton has told her supporters not to involve her in their efforts to stop Caroline Kennedy's path to the U.S. Senate, a person familiar with replacement discussions said.  —  The move clears a major obstacle between Kennedy and the seat.

The 10 Dopiest Business and Economy Leaders of 2008  —  ¡Ay, caramba!  In a year when Wall Street imploded, the Big Three automakers neared collapse, and the economy plunged into its worst downturn in at least a generation, finding business and economy “leaders” who messed up badly isn't too hard.

State budget unveiled, full of new taxes and cuts  —  ALBANY - Gov. Paterson released a $121 billion slash-and-burn budget Tuesday morning that slams New Yorkers with 88 new fees and taxes - even on their iPods.  —  Calling the budget the “greatest economic and fiscal challenge of our lifetimes …

Foreign Auto Makers Won Billions in Government Subsidies  —  General Motors production line.  (Flickr: steelcityhobbies)  —  To hear Southern Republicans tell the story, the financial burdens facing Detroit's automakers are self-made troubles to be settled by the laws of Adam-Smith capitalism.

Exclusive: Cheney Says He's Changed  —  Vice President Reflects on Time in Office, Assesses Obama's Team  —  In an exclusive interview with ABC News, a reflective Vice President Dick Cheney praised President-elect Barack Obama's national security team and admitted he's changed during his time in office.

Becerra's out  —  Rep. Xavier Becerra tells the editorial board of La Opinion that he has turned down the job of U.S. trade representative, having concluded — trade watchers take note — that trade won't be the first, second, or third priority of the Obama administration.

Goldman Sachs's Tax Rate Drops to 1%, or $14 Million  —  A A A  —  Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which got $10 billion and debt guarantees from the U.S. government in October, expects to pay $14 million in taxes worldwide for 2008 compared with $6 billion in 2007.

SEAN PENN FOR SENATOR!  —  The cover of the December 15th Nation magazine features an article by the veteran foreign correspondent Sean Penn on his recent trip to Venezuela and Cuba.  Travelling in the company of Douglas Brinkley, the noted actor, and Christopher Hitchens …

Jello Biafra Writes An Open Letter To Barack Obama  —  (Jello Biafra's 1979 mayoral campaign against Diane Feinstein was the first I ever worked on, which probably says a lot.  We're proud to publish his open letter to Barack Obama — jh)  —  My Friends (couldn't resist, I had to say it),

Eliot Spitzer shows his face in Chinatown  —  If Eliot Spitzer had had to choose a venue at which to make his re-entry into society, he would presumably not have selected a former massage parlour in Chinatown on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.  —  But Mr Spitzer, who resigned as governor …

Australian couple served with legal documents via Facebook  —  An Australian couple who defaulted on their mortgage have been served legally binding court documents via social networking site Facebook.  —  In what may be a world first, lawyers from Canberra law firm Meyer Vandenberg persuaded …

Poll Finds Widespread International Opposition to US Bases in Persian Gulf  —  US Approach to Muslim World Given Poor Grades by Many Nations  —  A WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of 21 nations around the world finds widespread opposition to the United States having naval forces based in the Persian Gulf.