Person of the Year 2008  —  INSIDE:

Aretha Franklin to Participate in Inaugural Ceremony  —  Aretha Franklin and Dr. Rick Warren, an author and leader of the Saddleback Church, are among the select group of people who will participate in Barack Obama's inaugural swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 20.

In Appearance Upstate, Kennedy Says Little  —  ROCHESTER — She talked about her book, about the Bill of Rights.  She talked about raising her family.  And, echoing her friend, President-elect Barack Obama, she said she could bring change to Washington.  —  Caroline Kennedy …

Blago drama for Obama  —  President-elect Barack Obama's incoming chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, was pushing for Obama's successor just days after the Nov. 4 election, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times.  —  Emanuel privately urged Gov. Blagojevich's administration to appoint Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett …

Justice Kennedy rejects 2 more challenges to Obama  —  Featured Topics:  —  AP - President-elect Barack Obama speaks during a news conference in Chicago, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008, where ...  - Slideshow: President-elect Barack Obama  — Play Video U.S. Courts Video: N.C. Supreme Court hears year-round school case WRAL Raleigh

LaHood considered for Cabinet post  —  Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) is in discussions with the Obama administration to take a Cabinet-level post — most likely secretary of the Department of Transportation, according to knowledgeable GOP sources.  —  When reached on his cell phone …

US Bankrupt?  —  Glenn posts this: … They're not accurate: … They palmed a card, actually two cards: the first one is they're using household net worth ... but that leaves out corporate net worth, so they're ignoring, eg, Exxon.  The second is that they're comparing future obligations …

Obama's Pressers: No Comment — and NoDoz  —  A month from now, the nation will say farewell to its sports-obsessed president who doesn't like tough questions.  And it will replace him with, well, another sports-obsessed president who doesn't like tough questions.

Blagojevich was bookie, says federal informant  —  The ABC7 I-Team has learned that an attorney who went undercover for the FBI in the late 1980's says he told federal authorities years ago about wrongdoing by Blagojevich.  —  His name is Robert Cooley.  —  Cooley was a criminal defense lawyer …

Second GOP senator to announce retirement  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Sen. Sam Brownback will announce Thursday he is retiring from the Senate when his term ends in 2010, allowing the Kansas Republican to explore a run for governor.  —  He will be the second GOP senator this year to publicly state …

Cake request for 3-year-old Hitler namesake denied  —  EASTON, Pa. - The father of 3-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell, denied a birthday cake with the child's full name on it by one New Jersey supermarket, is asking for a little tolerance.  Heath Campbell and his wife, Deborah …

Prostitution vs. war crimes: The real moral offense  —  In October, the extremely pro-war, neoconservative New York Sun ceased operations, and its journalists are now finding a warm and welcoming home, appropriately and revealingly enough, at The New Republic.

Between Obama and the Press  —  ROBERT GIBBS'S HEADY WASHINGTON RISE was certified on a humid day in June when a procession of media and political fancies gathered in tribute to Tim Russert, the “Meet the Press” host who died of a heart attack several days earlier.

Rep. Eshoo to push for Fairness Doctrine  —  Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (pictured), D-Palo Alto, said Monday she will work to restore the Fairness Doctrine and have it apply to cable and satellite programming as well as radio and TV.  —  “I'll work on bringing it back.

DSCC Senior Staff Stays Put  —  New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, the newly-chosen chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, has convinced the committee's top two staffers from the 2008 election to stay on for another election cycle, according to party sources familiar with the decision.