Citigroup Said to Commit $10 Million for New Executive Suite  —  Citigroup Inc. plans to spend about $10 million on new offices for Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit and his lieutenants, after the U.S. government injected $45 billion of cash into the bank.

Who Doesn't Love The JournoList?  —  How great is the JournoList, that off-the-record electronic salon where liberal journalists and policy gurus can exchange views, and which is emphatically *not* an echo chamber?  —  Let's see - Matt Yglesias of JL on the AIG furor - it's a distraction:

Inside AIG-FP, Feeling the Public's Wrath  —  A solitary flat-screen television hangs on the back wall of the trading floor inside the headquarters of AIG Financial Products here.  Wednesday afternoon, the most-talked-about employees in America huddled around it to find out just how despised they have become.

Duke Coach to Obama: Worry About the Economy, Not NCAA Picks  —  Reacting to news Obama picked North Carolina to win the NCAA Championship, Mike Krzyzewski says, “the economy is something that [the president] should focus on, probably more than the brackets.”

IDF in Gaza: Killing civilians, vandalism, and lax rules of engagement  —  During Operation Cast Lead, Israeli forces killed Palestinian civilians under permissive rules of engagement and intentionally destroyed their property, say soldiers who fought in the offensive.

13 firms receiving federal bailout owe back taxes  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - At least 13 firms receiving billions of dollars in bailout money owe a total of more than $220 million in unpaid federal taxes, a key lawmaker said Thursday.

Gordon Brown is frustrated by ‘Psycho’ in No 10  —  While not exactly a film buff, Gordon Brown was touched when Barack Obama gave him a set of 25 classic American movies - including Psycho, starring Anthony Perkins on his recent visit to Washington.  —  Alas, when the PM settled …

Obama, Schwarzenegger hug it out  —  LOS ANGELES - It was a Hollywood moment, even if it was fleeting.  —  The celebrity president and the celebrity governor appeared together on stage.  —  Sure, it was only for a minute.  But the cameras never stopped clicking and the crowd never stopped cheering.

Audio comedy gold: Bozo the Vice President is looking out for you  —  The gaffetastic gift that keeps on giving.  —  In trying times, we can always count on Bozo the Vice President to provide some welcome comic relief.  Joe Biden was The Newshour on PBS last night in full swagger …

Pelosi: House Dems blameless in AIG scandal  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) kicked blame for the insertion of a provision allowing for AIG bonuses to go forward to the White House and the Senate on Thursday morning, saying House Democrats bore no responsibility for the bonus language at the center of the AIG storm.

Undersea volcano erupts near Tonga  —  Eruption in South Pacific not presently a threat to islanders, authorities say  —  NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga - Scientists sailed Thursday to inspect an undersea volcano that has been erupting for days near Tonga — shooting smoke, steam and ash thousands of feet …

The Grievance Committee  —  Angry.  So very, very angry.  Unable to speak due to mega-anger washing over every pore and fiber of my being.  Anger is in.  (Hope's so ... January.)  —  I am extremely angry at Tim Geithner for being such a baby that he couldn't scare a bunch …

Julia Alasheyeva, Moscow  —  A picture has emerged apparently showing Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in his former days as a KGB officer.  —  The 20-year old photo depicts two world leaders - US President Ronald Reagan and the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev - in Moscow.

Analysis: Obama's ‘blame me’ means ‘move on’  —  (CNN) — President Obama topped a town hall appearance Wednesday by claiming responsibility for the bonuses paid out to executives at the bailed-out insurance giant American International Group, saying, “I'm outraged, too.”

Top brass disturbed by GOP stalling of Iraq ambassador  —  There's one as yet unremarked constituency increasingly disturbed by some Republican senators' efforts to block the confirmation of former North Korea envoy Christopher Hill to be the next U.S. ambassador to Iraq: the U.S. military.

Obama: It's like AIG has a bomb strapped to them  — E-mail a friend - Print this - Letter to the Editor - Republish - - Get e-mail alerts - RSS  —  Maybe Iowa Senator Charles Grassley and President Obama have more in common than they think.  —  At least there are similarities when they discuss AIG.

Bin Laden exhorts Somali militants in Web message  —  NAIROBI, Kenya - Osama bin Laden urged Somalis on Thursday to overthrow their new president, issuing a statement that clearly outlines al-Qaida's ambitions in a nation long feared to be a haven for the terrorist network.

Iranian blogger who insulted leader ‘dies in jail’  —  A young Iranian blogger jailed in Tehran's notorious Evin prison for insulting the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has died, his lawyer said today.  —  Mohammad Ali Dadkhah said that although there is not yet …

Haggard, Wife to Appear on ‘Divorce Court’ Show  —  COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Former evangelical pastor Ted Haggard and his wife are planning another TV appearance, this time to talk about their marriage.  —  The two are in Los Angeles taping an appearance on the syndicated Twentieth Television show …

No Return to Normal  —  Why the economic crisis, and its solution,  —  are bigger than you think.  —  B arack Obama's presidency began in hope and goodwill, but its test will be its success or failure on the economics.  Did the president and his team correctly diagnose the problem?

Networks reluctantly shuffle for Obama speech  —  Networks are pulling their shows over to the side of the road to make room for the lights and sirens of president Barack Obama's latest primetime address.  —  Obama will take to the air next Tuesday evening on four broadcast networks and bump …

Axelrod: People Don't Care About AIG Mess  —  Come on, guys, can't we get the message straight on this one?  —  Yesterday I noted that Rahm Emanuel had said that Obama saw the AIG fiasco as a “big distraction” from efforts to fix the economy.  Later in the day, Obama walked that back …

Norquist Opposes AIG Tax, But Says It Doesn't Break Tax Pledge  —  ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf reports from Capitol Hill: While everyone seems to be outraged about the $165 million in bonuses awarded to AIG executives at the troubled financial products division, the plan by Democrats in the House …

California Congressman Calls Maryland Home to Gain Tax Credit  —  A senior member of the U.S. House's tax-writing Ways and Means Committee from California has been taking advantage of a tax break for a home in Maryland that he claims as his principal residence.