memeorandum: EU's new figurehead believes climate change is a myth (David Charter/Times of London)

5:55 PM ET, January 3, 2009

Top Items:

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: ATTACKERMAN, Reuters, Israellycool, MyDD, IDF Spokesperson, Harry's Place, Israpundit, AMERICAblog News, The Muqata, Taylor Marsh, Gateway Pundit, The Other McCain, AlterNet.org, Multi Medium, Yourish.com and QandO

New York Times:

Israeli Troops Launch Attack on Gaza — JERUSALEM — Israeli tanks and troops swept across the border into Gaza on Saturday night, opening a ground war against the militant group Hamas after a week of intense airstrikes. — The Israeli military said in a statement that the objective …

Discussion: McClatchy Washington Bureau, D-Day, Jay Currie, RBO, Matthew Yglesias and Lawyers, Guns and Money

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: Haaretz, Firedoglake, Weekly Standard, reliefweb.int, The Moderate Voice, Israel Matzav, Agence France Presse, Ynetnews, A Blog For All and focus-fen.net

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 and Op For

Ethan Bronner / New York Times:

News Analysis: Israel Weighs Goal: Ending Hamas Rule, Rocket Fire, or Both — EREZ CROSSING, on the Israel-Gaza border — As Israel's tanks and troops poured into Gaza on Saturday, the next phase in its fierce attempt to end rocket attacks, a question hung over the operation …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Random Thoughts, TPMCafe and Mondoweiss

Orange County Register:

Mark Steyn: Gaza has its version of rocket scientists — Westerners seem to expect more civilized behavior from Israel than from its adversaries. — Recommend — So how was your holiday season? Over in Gaza, whether or not they're putting the Christ back in Christmas, they're certainly putting the crucifixion back in Easter.

Discussion: five feet of fury

CNN:
13 reported killed in airstrike on Gaza mosque

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Mere Rhetoric, Danger Room, Change.org's Blog Network, The Agonist, The Raw Story, Comments from Left Field and Agence France Presse

Fida Qishta / Guardian:
Do Israel pilots feel happy killing innocent women and children?

Discussion: bastard.logic

Ynetnews:
IDF enters Gaza; dozens of terrorists hurt

Discussion: Commentary and Atlas Shrugs

Tim Butcher / Telegraph:
No ground attack as Israel seeks to decapitate Hamas with airstrikes

Discussion: Mere Rhetoric, Yourish.com and Israel Matzav

White House:
President's Radio Address

Discussion: Gateway Pundit, Yourish.com, Commentary and On Deadline

BBC:
Israeli troops enter Gaza Strip

Discussion: PoliBlog

Chicago Sun Times:

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 …

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

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, The Huffington Post, Democrats.com, The Other McCain and Political Punch

Manu Raju / The Politico:
Coleman may lose office until election is decided

Discussion: The Caucus, Political Machine, Associated Press, Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!, AMERICAblog News, Firedoglake, Prairie Weather, The Big Question, The Hill and Macsmind

Alex Isenstadt / The Politico:
Cornyn rips Reid on Blago calls

Discussion: The Marathon Blog

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

Discussion: New York Times and The Caucus

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

Discussion: Don Surber, Balkinization and PoliBlog

Harold Ambler / The Huffington Post:

Mr. Gore: Apology Accepted — You are probably wondering whether President-elect Obama owes the world an apology for his actions regarding global warming. The answer is, not yet. There is one person, however, who does. You have probably guessed his name: Al Gore.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org

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, Talking Points Memo and The Reaction

Michael Saul / NY Daily News:

Me-ow! Ann Coulter hits Michelle Obama over styles — Right-wing flame thrower Ann Coulter blasts incoming First Lady Michelle Obama as a freakish Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis imitator in a book to be published next week. — In her latest screed, titled “Guilty: Liberal 'Victims …

Discussion: Political Machine, Jezebel and Hullabaloo

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, The Jed Report and MSNBC

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