The Minnesota State Canvassing Board today certified Senate recount results that show Democrat Al Franken ousting Republican Norm Coleman by some 225 votes. "I'm ready to get to work," Franken said. Coleman's campaign, which contends the recount should have included about 650 absentee ballots that were rejected, said it will challenge the decision.
Leon Panetta, chief of staff in Bill Clinton's White House, will be President-elect Barack Obama's choice to head the CIA, two Democratic officials told CNN Monday. The same officials said that retired Adm. Dennis Blair, who formerly headed the Navy's Pacific Command, will be tapped as director of national intelligence.
If President-elect Barack Obama has his way, individual taxpayers would get a tax cut equal to $500, CNNMoney reports. He is meeting with top legislators in Washington today to push for a massive package to revive the economy. Obama is planning a major speech on the economy Thursday, a senior Democratic official says.