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9:55 AM ET, January 5, 2012

Top Items:

Stephen Gutowski / MRCTV:

Richard Cordray: Any Legislation Which Has Even “Incidental Effects on the Economy” is a “Valid Exercise of Congressional Authority” — President Obama announced today that he was going to take a new step in the expansion of executive authority by recess appointing a head …

Discussion: sunshinestatesarah's Diary, Right Wing News, Verum Serum, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, NationalJournal.com, Michelle Malkin, Nice Deb and Prairie Weather

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

A telling sign: Scott Brown comes out in support of Cordray recess appointment — Here's a pretty clear sign of which way the politics are moving in the fight over Obama's decision to employ a recess appointment to install Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Associated Press, The Hill, Weasel Zippers, Brad DeLong, The Atlantic Online, The Page, Ballot Box and Daily Kos

Peter Schroeder / The Hill:
Court fight over recess appointments ‘almost certain,’ Chamber says

Discussion: Questions and Observations, Campaign 2012 and The Gateway Pundit

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Obama under strong pressure to break precedent on recess appointments

Discussion: CNN, Mitt Romney for President …, Wonkette, The Politico, The Daily Caller, New York Times, Washington Post, US Politics, The Volokh Conspiracy, Los Angeles Times and RedState

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Doubling down: Obama follows Cordray recess appointment with three more to NLRB

Discussion: Speaker and RedState

Washington Times:
Obama defies Congress with ‘recess’ picks

Discussion: Leon_H_Wolf's blog, The Heritage Foundation, americanthinker.com, Big Government, New York Times, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Betsy's Page, Power Line, Campaign 2012, RedState, The Politico and White House.gov Blog

Brad Plumer / Washington Post:
With Cordray appointment, Obama sets new precedent

Discussion: New York Times, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, The Monkey Cage, Daily Kos, Rortybomb, The Atlantic Online, Wonkette, Political Mojo, The Volokh Conspiracy, The Caucus and The New Republic

Peter Schroeder / The Hill:
Reid backs Obama after using pro forma sessions to block Bush

Discussion: Washington Post, National Review, Campaign 2012, Hot Air, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers and Viking Pundit

Joseph Williams / The Politico:
Obama makes 3 NLRB recess appointments

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The New Republic, The White House and ACS Blog

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Breaking: Obama also set to make recess appointments to the NLRB

George F. Will / Washington Post:

Suddenly, a fun candidate — The complaint that Iowa is not a typical American state is true but trivial because there is no such state. Can you name one whose political culture, closely considered, is more like than unlike any other state's? Anyway, someplace has to go first …

Discussion: Catholic Bandita, Wall Street Journal, The Politico, Outside the Beltway, National Review, DownWithTyranny!, Mediaite, Don Surber, The Right Scoop, The Daily Caller, Eunomia and ABCNEWS

James Hohmann / The Politico:

Morning Score: Paul raises $13M — EXCLUSIVE - PAUL RAISES $13 MILLION IN Q4: Ron Paul's campaign raised $13 million in the last three months of the year. The impressive figure comes after he took in $8 million during the third quarter. The cash flow will allow the Texas congressman to compete through later primaries and caucuses.

Discussion: msnbc.com, ABCNEWS, Washington Post and GOP 12

Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:

A Big Win for Romney in Iowa — The former governor of Massachusetts is now a heavy favorite for the nomination. — Not long ago few thought Mitt Romney could win both the very conservative Iowa caucuses and then the quirky, slightly contrarian New Hampshire primary.

Discussion: The Politico, Associated Press, unionleader.com, Sabato's Crystal Ball and GOP 12

Kevin Drum / Political Mojo:
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Mitt Romney?

Discussion: Campaign 2012, Swampland, Truthdig and New York Times

Irin Carmon / Salon:
Rick Santorum is coming for your birth control

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Feministing, Guardian, American Spectator and Booman Tribune

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Credit Santorum with sinking Ron Paul

Discussion: Leon_H_Wolf's blog, AlterNet, News Desk and National Review

Jay Cost / Weekly Standard:
Morning Jay: What Iowa Tells Us About the State of the Race

Discussion: The Monkey Cage, Power Line, Associated Press, Washington Wire, Washington Post, Vodkapundit, The Atlantic Online, Wall Street Journal, Betsy's Page and msnbc.com

Phil Gast / CNN:

Oklahoma mom calling 911 asks if shooting an intruder is allowed — (CNN) — Home alone with her 3-month-old son, Sarah Dawn McKinley of Blanchard, Oklahoma, said she decided to make a stand when two men tried to break into her home on New Year's Eve. — McKinley, who had been widowed less …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Rod Dreher

Michael McLaughlin / The Huffington Post:
911 Tells Mom ‘Do What You Have To Do’: Okla. Mom Sarah McKinley Kills Intruder Justin Martin

Discussion: msnbc.com, The Raw Story and Jammie Wearing Fools

Wall Street Journal:

Kodak Teeters on the Brink — Eastman Kodak Co. is preparing to seek bankruptcy protection in the coming weeks, people familiar with the matter said, a move that would cap a stunning comedown for a company that once ranked among America's corporate titans. — The 131-year-old company …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, CBS Boston, The Verge, Guardian, Atlas Shrugs and AllThingsD, more at Techmeme »

John Ingold / Denver Post:

Password case reframes Fifth Amendment rights in context of digital world — Beyond the log-in screen of Ramona Fricosu's laptop computer lies what federal prosecutors say could be the key evidence in the bank-fraud case against her. — There's only one problem: Prosecutors don't know her password.

Discussion: Instapundit

Jeralyn / TalkLeft:
Can the Government Force You to Unlock Your Computer?

Discussion: Political Mojo

New York Times:

Not Your Father's Republican Party — Norman J. Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. — There is no doubt that Republicans are fragmented now as they move formally to try to choose a presidential nominee. Echoing Jim Rutenberg of The New York Times …

Discussion: Booman Tribune and Prairie Weather

The U.S. Department of Labor:

Skip to page content — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis — EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION — Program Contact: — TRANSMISSION OF MATERIAL IN THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED UNTIL — (202) 693-4676 — UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT — SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Wall Street Pit and FT Alphaville

Charles McGrath / New York Times:

How Many Stephen Colberts Are There? — There used to be just two Stephen Colberts, and they were hard enough to distinguish. The main difference was that one thought the other was an idiot. The idiot Colbert was the one who made a nice paycheck by appearing four times a week on …

Jason DeParle / New York Times:

Harder for Americans to Rise From Lower Rungs — WASHINGTON — Benjamin Franklin did it. Henry Ford did it. And American life is built on the faith that others can do it, too: rise from humble origins to economic heights. “Movin' on up,” George Jefferson-style, is not only a sitcom song but a civil religion.

Discussion: Jared Bernstein and Prairie Weather

Rebecca Lopez / WFAA-TV:

Dallas teen missing since 2010 was mistakenly deported — DALLAS - “It's very frustrating,” Lorene Turner said. — She has spent hours on Facebook trying to find her granddaughter, Jakadrien. — “Once I get home I am up until 3 or 4 in the morning searching and looking,” Turner said.

Discussion: THEROOT.COM, Outside the Beltway, The Hinterland Gazette, utsandiego.com, Hullabaloo, Firedoglake, The Debate Link, emptywheel, The Raw Story, msnbc.com and The Agitator

Reuters:

Obama plans to cut tens of thousands of ground troops — (Reuters) - The Obama administration will unveil a “more realistic” vision for the military on Thursday, with plans to cut tens of thousands of ground troops and invest more in air and sea power at a time of fiscal restraint, officials familiar with the plans said on Wednesday.

Discussion: BLACKFIVE, iOwnTheWorld.com and Weasel Zippers

Juana Summers / The Politico:

Herman Cain to launch 9-9-9 bus tour — Herman Cain's not a candidate anymore, but he's launching a new bus tour anyway. — The former Godfather's Pizza CEO announced plans to tour the country to raise support for the “9-9-9” plan that was the star of his aborted presidential run …

Discussion: NewsHounds blog

A.Killough / CNN: Cain aims to keep 9-9-9 alive

David Siders / Capitol Alert:

California review group blasts high-speed rail's funding plan — In another setback for high-speed rail in California, the project's peer review group told lawmakers today that it could not recommend bond funding for high-speed rail construction until its prospects for long-term funding are clearer.

Discussion: Firedoglake and Hot Air

Vauhini Vara / Wall Street Journal:
California Train Plan Hits Bump Over Funds

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Los Angeles Times, Via Meadia, The Informer and ThinkProgress

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:

Rep. Giffords to attend Tucson vigil marking anniversary of shooting — Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) will attend a vigil to mark the one-year anniversary of the 2011 shooting that critically injured the congresswoman and left six people dead. — The event will be held at the University …

Discussion: CNN