memeorandum: As 111th Senate Is Set to Begin, Four Seats Still Up in Air (Paul Kane/Washington Post)

3:00 PM ET, January 3, 2009

Top Items:

Reid pressured Blagojevich not to appoint Jackson Jr. to Obama's U.S. Senate seat — Days before Gov. Blagojevich was charged with trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder, top Senate Democrat Harry Reid made it clear who he didn't want in the post …

Discussion: JammieWearingFool, Hullabaloo, FiveThirtyEight.com, D-Day, Hot Air, NewsBusters.org, Don Surber, Emptywheel, TIME.com, BLACKFIVE, RedState, Sister Toldjah, Jack & Jill Politics, Macsmind, Stop The ACLU, Gateway Pundit and Political Punch

Lynn Sweet / Chicago Sun Times:

Roland Burris tells Lynn Sweet: ‘We are the senator’ — NO CIRCUS? Says he'll try to avoid a scene when he shows up to claim seat — WASHINGTON — Roland Burris, being Roland Burris, put it to me this way Friday when we talked: “We are the senator.” — And we, that is he …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, TalkLeft, Daily Kos, Taylor Marsh, TIME.com, Moonbattery, TPM Election Central and Wall Street Journal

Manu Raju / The Politico:

Coleman may lose office until election is decided — When the 111th Congress convenes on Tuesday, Norm Coleman may be out of an office, even though his Senate race remains far from settled. — Coleman's first term officially expires at noon on Saturday, and he is locked …

Discussion: Associated Press, Firedoglake, Political Machine, AMERICAblog News, Prairie Weather, The Big Question, Macsmind, New York Times and The Hill

Chris Bowers / Open Left:

IL-Sen: Electability As Corruption — A new story in the Chicago Sun-Times indicates that, the day before Blagojevich's calls were taped, Harry Reid pushed Blagojevich not to appoint the three leading African-American politicians in Illinois (after Barack Obama, of course).

Discussion: TalkLeft

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

As 111th Senate Is Set to Begin, Four Seats Still Up in Air — As the gavel quietly fell yesterday on the final session of the 110th Senate, officials in several states sought to cut through the confusion surrounding a quartet of chamber seats whose future occupants remain undetermined amid succession fights …

Discussion: The Caucus and New York Times

Laurence H. Tribe / Forbes:
Blagojevich And The Constitution — The Senate doesn't have to seat Burris.

Discussion: Don Surber, Balkinization and PoliBlog

Chicago Breaking News:
Burris asks high court to move fast

Discussion: TIME.com

Haaretz:

Israel launches ground offensive in the Gaza Strip — Palestinian witnesses said the artillery barrage caused a large explosion in Gaza City as well as a series of blasts stitching the nearby frontier with Israel. — Channel 10 television quoted a witness as saying that Israel …

Discussion: Danger Room, Israellycool, Israpundit, ATTACKERMAN, Gateway Pundit, Multi Medium, Yourish.com and The Muqata

Fox News:

Israeli Ground Forces Cross Border Into Gaza Strip — DEVELOPING: Israeli ground forces began moving across the border into the northern Gaza Strip in an escalation late Saturday night of the weeklong offensive against Hamas. — The incursion was confirmed to FOX News by Israeli defense officials …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Associated Press:

IDF begins shelling northern Gaza for 1st time since op began — For the first time since the start of Operation Cast Lead, the IDF began firing artillery shells into northern Gaza on Saturday afternoon, IDF officials said. — According to reports, the artillery units were attacking targets …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Moderate Voice, Israel Matzav, Telegraph, Hot Air, Agence France Presse, Mere Rhetoric, A Blog For All and Ynetnews

Ron Ben-Yishai / Ynetnews:
IDF artillery targets Gaza

Discussion: Mere Rhetoric, Guardian, Israel Matzav and Yourish.com

Orange County Register:
Mark Steyn: Gaza has its version of rocket scientists

Discussion: five feet of fury

Matthew Weaver / Guardian:
Bush blames Israel-Gaza violence on Hamas

Discussion: Comments from Left Field, Firedoglake and Stop The ACLU

The Raw Story:
CNN: US weapons ‘killing innocent civilians’ in Gaza

Discussion: Mondoweiss and Guardian

Khalid al-Ansary / Reuters:

U.S.-installed Iraqi ex-PM says Bush “utter failure” — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Former U.S.-installed Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has denounced the policies of President George W. Bush as an “utter failure” that gave rise to the sectarian venom that ravaged his country.

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, The Raw Story and Talking Points Memo

Dave Rochelson / Change.gov:

American Recovery and Reinvestment — In this week's weekly address, President-elect Barack Obama lays out the challenges that face us in the new year, and his plan for taking them on. — “We need an American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that not only creates jobs in the short-term …

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots, RedState and Political Punch

Associated Press:
Obama: Country needs economic stimulus plan

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Reuters and The Politico

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Back at Work, Obama Pitches His Stimulus Plan

Discussion: Buck Naked Politics

Ben Feller / Associated Press:

Analysis: Bush's personality shapes his legacy — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush will be judged on what he did. He will also be remembered for what he's like: a fast-moving, phrase-mangling Texan who stays upbeat even though his country is not.

Discussion: Hullabaloo and The Jed Report

Roni Caryn Rabin / New York Times:

A New Cigarette Hazard: ‘Third-Hand Smoke’ — Parents who smoke often open a window or turn on a fan to clear the air of second-hand smoke, but experts now have identified another smoking-related threat to children's health that isn't as easy to get rid of: third-hand smoke.

Discussion: Villainous Company

David Kocieniewski / New York Times:

Rangel Pushed for a Donation; Insurer Pushed for a Tax Cut — On April 21, 2008, Representative Charles B. Rangel met with officials of the American International Group, the now-troubled insurance giant, to ask for a donation to a school of public service that City College of New York was building in his honor.

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, A Blog For All, Gothamist, AmSpecBlog, Don Surber and Commentary

Cynthia Dizikes / Los Angeles Times:

Khat — is it more coffee or cocaine? — ‘FLOWER OF PARADISE’: In East African countries like Somalia, khat leaves have been used as a stimulant and social tonic. But in the U.S. khat is illegal, and increased demand is leading to clashes between narcotics officers and immigrants.

Discussion: PoliBlog and Althouse