Cheat Sheet

Citigroup is close to a deal with the U.S. government to isolate the troubled financial firm's risky assets. While the Wall Street Journal cautions the situation is "fluid," the agreement would create a "bad bank"-holding as much as $50 billion in assets-that would ease the bank's balance sheet. Last week, Citi's stock dropped 60% to a 16-year low.

President-elect has selected New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to be his secretary of Commerce, in a move that will be announced later, Politico reports. Richardson, who served as Energy secretary and ambassador to the United Nations under President Clinton, had wanted to be secretary of state, a position presumed to be occupied by Hillary Clinton. Obama, meanwhile, will appear with Fed President Tim Geithner, his pick for Treasury secretary, and Larry Summers, his economic adviser, in Chicago on Monday.

If the past three Sundays are any indication, the new administration may be less faith-based than the current White House. Unlike other presidents-to-be, Barack Obama hasn't been to church services since winning the election. Instead, the 47-year-old is hitting a Chicago gym. "Because they have a great deal of respect for places of worship, they do not want to draw unwelcome or inappropriate attention to a church not used to the attention their attendance would draw," an aide said, noting the First Family "look[s] forward to finding a church community in Washington, D.C."

The New York Times reports this morning that President Bush is trying on a new emotion: wistfulness. In Peru for the Asia-Pacific EconomicCooperation forum—his last scheduled international trip—Bush said in aspeech: "I remember the flag flying from every fire truck inMontreal, Canada. I remember children kneeling in silent prayeroutside our embassy in Seoul. I remember baseball players in Japanobserving moments of silence…The bonds of unity we felt then remaintoday, and they will always remain." Bush was similarly verklempt whentold Chinese leader Hu Jintao that he was feeling "a littlenostalgic." (Hu's response was not recorded.) Still, the paper notes,Bush has some good crying left to do if he wants to match the mostwistful of farewell tours: Bill Clinton's global trot in 2000.

One of the most important administration appointments is ambassador to China, Fareed Zakaria writes in Newsweek. If a working relationship between Washington and Beijing isn't maintained, "things could get very, very ugly," he suggests. "In order to run up these deficits—which could total somewhere between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion, or between 7 and 11 percent of GDP—someone has to buy American debt. And the only country that has the cash to do so is China."

As Bamelot dawns, a few Democrats aren't exactly feeling theexcitement of the new era. The Politico has a round-up of those polsthat Obama declined to pick for prime cabinet spots. There's JohnKerry, thought to be a contender for State ("He's crushed," says anaide). Howard Dean did not get the Health and Human Servicespost—possibly because of his bad relationship with Rahm Emanuel. Alsoamong the losers: Dick Holbrooke (State) and Susan Rice (NationalSecurity Advisor). Bill Richardson might become Commerce Secretary,but he was probably hoping for something more. Mandatory note ofcaution: few of Obama's choices are official at this point.

The Democratic primary may have been a no-holds-barred slugfest, but Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have been growing ever closer since he won the primary and then the election. The New York Times has a behind the scenes look at how the onetime foes became confidants, including details about personal phone calls he made to her and a friendly plane ride to their first campaign event together after the primary. Insiders tell the Times that the discussions the two political powerhouses have had about the secretary of state position show that have a "working chemistry." But while Obama and Clinton are no longer the rivals that Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger were, they're also not the best buds that George W. Bush and Condoleezza Rice are. They're somewhere in the middle. “I think that Obama and Clinton could form a perfect partnership based on respect for each other’s view of the world,” said Walter Isaacson, the author of The Wise Men, a history of America’s postwar foreign policy establishment.

General Motors Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner told lawmakers last week that bankruptcy is not an option for the ailing automaker, but according to the Wall Street Journal, members of GM’s board of directors disagree. Though the board has strongly supported Wagoner in the past and agrees that government funding is the best way to rescue the company, it remains unwilling to dismiss the possibility of filing for bankruptcy. In early November Wagoner said, "We're convinced the consequences of a bankruptcy would be dire and extend far beyond General Motors and therefore we are going to take every action we possibly can to avoid it." GM shares closed at $3.06, up 18 cents from the previous day but down from about $42 a year ago.

As expected, Barack Obama has named campaign communications director Robert Gibbs to be his White House press secretary. The President-elect also named Ellen Moran, executive director of EMILY’s List, to the role of communications director and Dan Pfeiffer, also a communications director on his campaign, to the position deputy director of communications. Moran has a long political resume while Pfeiffer came from the office of former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. “This dedicated and impressive group of public servants includes longtime advisors and a talented new addition to our team, and together we will work to serve our country and meet the challenges of this defining moment in history,” Obama said in a statement.

A U.S. missile strike has killed British-born Rashid Rauf, the suspected mastermind of a 2006 al Qaeda plot to blow up 10 trans-Atlantic jets with liquid explosives, according to reports in Pakistan. An unmanned drone killed Rauf and at least four other al Qaeda militants in the North Waziristan region of Pakistan. The missile strike was one of at least 20 similar and controversial American assaults on al Qaeda targets in that region. The Pakistani government, which maintains that the drone attacks are fanning the flames of anti-Americanism and Islamic extremism, would prefer to deal with terrorists on its own. But the American military has become increasingly impatient with Pakistan's efforts to curb terrorism within its borders. Despite complaints, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has said that he will not cut off anti-terror cooperation with America. He hopes Barack Obama will focus more on equipping Pakistani troops so they can root out terrorists within the country.