By LARA JAKES JORDAN and CHRISTINE SIMMONS on Nov 21, 2008 10:02AM

Gov't: AG gets clean bill of health after collapse

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Attorney General Michael Mukasey was given "a clean bill of health" and hoped to check out of the hospital after extensive medical tests following his collapse, the Justice Department said Friday....

By NEDRA PICKLER on Nov 21, 2008 05:47AM

Obama plans to nominate Clinton for top diplomat

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President-elect Barack Obama plans to nominate Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state after Thanksgiving, a new milestone for the former first lady and a convergence of two political forces who fought hard for the presidency....

By PATRICK CONDON on Nov 21, 2008 04:28AM

Disputed Senate ballots hold key to Minn. win

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A recount watchdog for Norm Coleman flagged a ballot because the voter put a check next to Al Franken's name instead of blacking in the oval. A Franken monitor challenged an apparent vote for Coleman because Franken's name was also marked. And representatives of both men invoked challenges because of marks elsewhere on the ballot that could make them identifiable....

By ROB RUNYAN on Nov 20, 2008 11:28AM

Politics' next step? Donations go high text

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a 2008 Super Bowl ad, NFL golden boy Tom Brady asked nearly 100 million viewers to text "FIT" to donate $5 to the United Way. About 25,000 people responded, raising $10,000....

By KEN THOMAS on Nov 21, 2008 03:05AM

Automakers need to make case for government aid

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Detroit's embattled automakers have two weeks to show a skeptical Congress how a multibillion-dollar lifeline will help them keep the industry from imploding....

Nov 18, 2008 07:58PM

Lieberman keeps powerful chairmanship post

Democrat-turned-independent Sen. Joe Lieberman managed to keep his Senate committee chairmanship in part because President-elect Barack Obama didn't want to punish him for supporting Sen. John McCain, Lieberman said Tuesday.

Nov 18, 2008 08:00PM

Source: Orszag tapped for OMB post

President-elect Barack Obama has picked Peter Orszag, the head of the Congressional Budget Office, to head his Office of Management and Budget, a top Democratic source told CNN Tuesday.

Nov 18, 2008 07:55PM

Begich claims victory over Stevens in Alaska

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, the Republican lawmaker convicted on felony corruption charges in October, was defeated in his bid for re-election by Democrat Mark Begich, according to a release from Begich's campaign and unofficial results from state officials.

Nov 18, 2008 05:57PM

Texas grand jury indicts Cheney, Gonzales

Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been indicted on separate charges related to alleged prisoner abuse in federal detention centers, Willacy County, Texas, District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra told CNN Tuesday.

Nov 18, 2008 10:09AM

Savage: We want full civil marriage rights

More than a week after voters in California, Arizona and Florida passed ballot initiatives outlawing same-sex marriage, thousands of people across the country protested the bans in simultaneous rallies Saturday. In California, Proposition 8 overturned a May ruling by the California Supreme Court that struck down a 2000 ban on same-sex unions. It passed 52.5 percent to 47.5 percent. CNN's D.L. Hughley spoke to sex columnist Dan Savage about the ongoing battle to legalize same-sex marriage in California. Savage is the author of the popular syndicated sex advice column "Savage Love."

Blake Dvorak on Nov 21, 2008 09:07AM

Clever Clinton?

The New York Times today reports on "options" for Hillary were she not to accept the SoS spot: The discussions about an enhanced position for Mrs. Clinton are factoring into her deliberations over joining the cabinet, the officials said. Mrs. Clinton, the junior senator from New York, is wrestling with whether to abandon her independence to [...]

Blake Dvorak on Nov 21, 2008 06:22AM

The Morning Report

In the Headlines "Obama plans to nominate Clinton for secretary of state after Thanksgiving, his aides say" (Nedra Pickler, AP) - President-elect Barack Obama plans to nominate Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state after Thanksgiving, a new milestone for the former first lady and a convergence of two political forces who fought hard for the [...]

Kyle Trygstad on Nov 21, 2008 06:09AM

Minnesota, Georgia Senate Update

After two days of recounting votes in Minnesota, Sen. Norm Coleman led Al Franken by just 136 votes with 46% of the 2.9 million ballots counted, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Ramsey County elections manager Joe Mansky said things went smoothly Thursday, although he noted some tension in the morning as campaign observers asked to look [...]

Blake Dvorak on Nov 20, 2008 03:47PM

'Fairness Doctrine' All Hot Air?

That's the argument Marin Cogan makes in her New Republic piece. Specifically, says Cogan, the supposed effort by Democrats to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine is a "manufactured controversy." She writes: To figure out who was causing such agitation, I went searching for the proponents of the fairness doctrine. I looked at Obama's position?and it turns out [...]

Blake Dvorak on Nov 20, 2008 02:45PM

Pritzker Out of the Game

Penny Pritzker, who the Obama folks were eyeing for commerce secretary, has removed her name from the running, reports Politico's Mike Allen: Chicago businesswoman Penny Pritzker, national campaign finance chairwoman for the Obama campaign, has taken herself out of the running to be secretary of commerce, a Democratic official said. ?She fears problems with her confirmation based [...]