Democratic Chatter 1-9-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

Today, President-elect Barack Obama will officially announce Panetta and Blair - he is expected to hold a press conference this morning announcing what has already been leaked days ago. Leon Panetta as director of the CIA and retired Admiral Dennis Blair as national intelligence officer. Time.com has more here. Also, John Brennan is expected to be named White House Homeland Security adviser.

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Vice-President elect Joe Biden is in Pakistan - in a little publicized trip in his capacity as outgoing chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He is joined by Republican Senator Lindsay Graham. They will meet with Pakistani Leaders and discuss the war on terror and recent flare up of tensions between India and Pakistan. You can read more here.

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National unemployment rate hits 7.2% - the Labor department reported that 2.589 million jobs were lost in 2008, the most in a single year since 1945. Bloomberg.com has more here.

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UN votes 14-0 for cease-fire in the fighting in Gaza - it has now been 14 days of fighting with no immediate end in sight. The U.S. abstained in the UN vote. The NY Times has more here.

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Illinois legislative committee recommends impeachment of Blagojevich - yesterday, they voted to recommend impeachment hearings. The Illinois House is expected to vote today and if a yeah vote, the proceedings would then move to the Illinois Senate. Also yesterday, Roland Burris testified and stated there was no quid pro quo in his appointment to the vacant Senate seat by the Governor. CNN.com has more here.

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Presidential Inauguration Committee (PIC) announces 5000 Tickets will be made available to the public today - the fee is $25 and will give you access to the bleachers along the route from the Capitol to the White House. They will be made available today at 1:00 PM ET on Ticketmaster.com on a first come-first serve basis and only up to four per person. PIC has more on their website here.

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