Rick Warren to give inaugural invocation  —  (CNN) — President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony will feature big names like minister Rick Warren and legendary singer Aretha Franklin, the Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies announced Wednesday.

Person of the Year 2008  —  INSIDE:

Kennedy Goes on Tour Upstate  —  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, on her first day touring upstate …

LaHood asked to be Transportation Sec  —  Peoria Republican congressman Ray LaHood has been asked to be Transportation Secretary for the Obama Administration, a Republican source said today.  —  A spokesman for the Obama transition team declined to comment and LaHood's office did not immediately return phone calls.

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

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

Environmentalists Wary of Obama's Interior Pick  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama's choice to lead the Interior Department, Senator Ken Salazar of Colorado, will inherit an agency demoralized by years of scandal, political interference and mismanagement.

IRAQI AMBASSADOR TELLS OFF CODE PINK WHACKOS (Video)  —  CODE PINK AMBUSHES IRAQI AMBASSADOR- AMBASSADOR FIRES BACK  —  “He's lucky he didn't try something like this under Saddam Hussein.”  —  Ambassador Samir Sumaida'ie: … The anti-American Marxist front group Code Pink ambushed Iraq Ambassador …

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.

WaPo: Only Positive Obama Ads, Please  —  Hoping to make a little cash off of Barack Obama's inauguration (that's certainly nothing new...), Washington Post.Newsweek Interactive and the Washington Post's classifieds departments have launched “Welcome to the White House”, a classfieds …

Illinois Supreme Court rejects Madigan bid to declare Blagojevich ‘unfit’  —  SPRINGFIELD—The Illinois Supreme Court today rejected Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan's attempt to have disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich declared unable to hold the office of Illinois chief executive, court officials said.