Cheat Sheet

Here’s the most intriguing theory so far from Rod Blagojevich saga. Several websites are reporting that Jack Conaty, a Chicago TV news reporter, said today: “We did receive a tip this morning that perhaps all of this came together so quickly because the governor may have reached out to Rahm Emanuel, the president-elect’s chief of staff, in attempting to leverage filling the Senate seat. And it may have been Rahm Emanuel who tipped the scale and made this move as quickly as it did.” Blagojevich and Emanuel both held the same U.S. House seat in Illinois.

A day after reaching its highest close in a month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 242 points today. The slump comes on the heels of bleak forecasts from FedEx, which predicted that its full fiscal year earnings will be disappointing, and Texas Instruments, which slashed its quarterly outlook. FedEx is widely seen as a bellwether for the economy as a whole and the reaction to TI, a computer chip manufacturer, reflected Wall Street's concern over a weakening demand for chips. As the Dow sank, demand for Treasury bills spiked as it auctioned off 430 billion in four-week bills at a rate of zero percent. "The bond market is doing a much better job than stocks right now of telling you about the risks that are out there," said Thomas H. Attenberry, a partner at First Pacific Advisors, an investment-management firm in Los Angeles. "Risk is beginning to look cheap, but not in the stock market."

A Minnesota court has rejected wide-standing Sen. Larry Craig's latest attempt to withdraw the guilty plea he issued after soliciting an undercover cop in a Minneapolis airport bathroom. Craig's contention that he hadn't committed a crime and that he was pressured into the plea didn’t sway the Minnesota state Court of Appeals, who affirmed a decision by the Hennepin County District Court. The Senator also argued that his actions constituted free speech, something that the appeals court's chief judge Edward Toussaint Jr. didn't necessarily disagree with. But, the judge added, Craig's speech (or toe-tapping, as it was) can be legally restricted as it invaded the "privacy interest" of a "captive audience," or the undercover cop. "I disagree with their conclusion and remain steadfast in my belief that nothing criminal or improper occurred at the Minneapolis airport," Craig said in a statement.

Like Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Portfolio writer Matthew Cooper was once in the sights of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. And now the former Time scribe, who refused to reveal his sources to Fitzgerald in the Valerie Plame leak investigation, has some sage advice for the corrupt Illinois Governor: “[Fitzgerald is] a hard ass, but a reasonable one and I think, if you believe you are guilty and are going to lose at trial, you might get a decent deal out of this.” Cooper warns Blago that Fitzgerald can “smell a liar” and that his best bet is to “beg for mercy” because “you might get it.” Of course, Cooper adds, if it’s all a big misunderstanding and Blagojevich is innocent, he should “fight like hell.”

So much for keeping Bill Clinton in check. Politico's Kenneth P. Vogel says that the new restrictions slapped on the Big Dog—a condition of his wife accepting the State Department post—leave him quite a bit of room to operate. Clinton can still give six-figure foreign speeches; can still bag huge checks from foreign governments on behalf of the Clinton Foundation. (Oddly, the Obama administration will only prohibit Clinton from soliciting contributions for the Clinton Global Initiative, which is a part of the Clinton Foundation.) One rule that will perhaps crimp Clinton's high-flying style: the names of all donors to the Global Initiative and the Foundation will have to be disclosed. Still, the upshot is that Clinton must "self-censor," according to one former foreign service officer.

Media goddess Oprah Winfrey has "fallen off the wagon" (her words) and says she weighs in at 200 pounds. In the latest issue of O magazine (with a side-by-side cover photo of her 2006 and 2008 sizes), Oprah details gaining 40 pounds due to an out-of-balance thyroid that caused her to fear working out. Her up-and-down struggles have famously been documented since the 1990s—remember personal trainer Bob Greene?—and will continue on January 7 during a Best Life Week planned for her talk show. Her current motivation for becoming strong, healthy and fit: Barack Obama's inaugural ball next month.

The Bush administration has kindly provided officials with a two-page memo outlining talking points about the president's eight years in office, The Los Angeles Times reports. Entitled "Speech Topper on the Bush Record," the memo was sent out to Cabinet members and other high-ranking officials. It reminds them that Bush "kept the American people safe" after 9/11; lifted the economy after the attacks with tax cuts; fought AIDS in Africa; and maintained "the honor and the dignity of his office"—an echo of a rather optimistic Bush campaign slogan from 2000. What of the economic crisis? Bush "responded with bold measures to prevent an economic meltdown." The memo, says a White House spokesman, is meant to highlight achievements that have been "purposefully ignored."

What happens after strike three? Nine imprisoned gang members are being sued by the city of Los Angeles for continuing to direct criminal enterprises from prison, reports The Wall Street Journal. Monetary penalties are being sought from the members of the 18th Street gang, "one of the largest and most violent criminal street gangs in the world." The gang is alleged to be "vertically integrated" with the Mexican Mafia and funneling proceeds to members using bank accounts the men continue to have in prison. "We're going to hit them where it hurts, in their wallet," said City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo. Two members are serving life terms, but additional cash, homes, cars, and other property can be seized if the case is won.

Rupert Murdoch is throwing a $150,000 bash for wife Wendi's 40th birthday tonight at New York's Gramercy Park Hotel. The splashy event—the guest list includes Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, Billy Joel, Barry Diller, Diane von Furstenberg, and Arianna Huffington, according to the Sydney Morning Herald—is likely to far outshine another party across town. That would be the book party for of Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff, whose The Man Who Owns the News was released last week. No guesses on whether the Aussie magnate will stop by.

More than a thousand marching bands have applied for the coveted slot of representing the 50 states as part of the inaugural parade—and competition is fierce! Darrell Watson, director of the marchers at Ballou Senior High School in troubled southeast D.C., says his ragtag crew will enter the race with the O’Jays’ “Love Train,” a song he heard at an Obama rally last year. But he might be intercepted by James Perry and the band of D.C.’s Eastern Senior High. "Each time we see each other, we try to raise the bar,” says Perry. “They're great competitors, and also they're great friends." Come January 20, only one piccolo will remain standing.

Bob Shrum is confident in Barack Obama's abilities to achieve a "Rooseveltian transformation in domestic policy" but he's less sure how the President-elect is going to handle his other crisis—Afghanistan. "Afghanistan has the potential to become what Iraq was for so long for Bush—a quagmire without exit," Shrum writes in The Week. It's the intimidating geography, the warlords and the poppy plants that will keep this war from being easily turned around. So what's the answer? Soft power, Shrum says. "This means economic reconstruction, jobs, schools, credible regional government and more culturally sensitive uses of armed force." Moreover, the key may lie in Obama's ability to settle on modest goals for Afghanistan. "A pragmatic President may be forced to conclude that we can’t remake Afghanistan in our own image—that it’s time to negotiate a 'very limited' deal that advances our security while freeing us from a rocky quagmire half a world away.”

Citing "sudden and rapid changes in the global economic environment," Sony announced Tuesday it would cut 8,000 jobs. The company says the move, along with the closing of some manufacturing sites, will result in a savings of more than $1 billion per year. According to The New York Times, "About 10 percent of the company's 57 plants will be shut, including two overseas sites, and plans to expand a site in Slovakia where LCD televisions for the European market are assembled have been delayed." Shares were up nearly 4 percent after the news.

Looks like one fourth-grader not only knows how to talk to girls, he’s also skilled at making money during the financial crisis. Fox has acquired the movie rights to Alex Greven’s How to Talk to Girls, a 46-page self-help book, for “low-to-mid six figures,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. The 9-year-old Colorado elementary schooler’s book came out in November and created a splash with its simple yet brilliant advice: “Comb your hair and don’t wear sweats; control your hyperness and cut down on sugar if necessary; a crush is like a love disease that can drive you mad; it is easy to spot pretty girls because they have big earrings, fancy dresses and all the jewelry but are like cars that need a lot of oil.”

A day after winning a judgment against a British tabloid for publishing stolen pictures of her wedding to ex-husband Guy Ritchie, Madonna has set her sights on American magazine OK! for running the same photos. The tab is reportedly trying to cut a deal with Madonna, promising to never put her in the magazine without prior approval. That OK! is trying to find a way around the suit is no surprise considering the $7.5 million that Madonna is seeking from the Mail on Sunday. But a source close to Madonna thinks there's no way she'll agree to OK!'s proposal. "Madonna would rather have the money."

As a House committee prepares to hold hearings today on the downfall of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, The Washington Post has gotten it hands on some pretty interesting evidence. Documents show that both were warned internally hat they were pushing into risky markets. Fannie was warned that it was entering into an unsafe area of the mortgage market but it pushed forward because if it hadn't it would have been relegated to a "niche" player in the market, unable to "maintain relevance." At Freddie, risk officer David Andrukonis continually warned that the a new mortgage markets it was entering were extremely dangerous, writing that the company was buying mortgages that appear "to target borrowers who would have trouble qualifying for a mortgage if their financial position were adequately disclosed." He was consistently ignored until Freddie executive asked him to leave the company in 2005.

The Greek government is holding crisis meetings today in an effort to put an end to three days of violent rioting across the country. Greek teenagers began their protests after police shot and killed a 15-year-old boy on Saturday; the riots have injured dozens and caused millions of dollars in damages and looting. In Athens, the city’s giant Christmas tree has been set ablaze, the BBC reports, and police have used tear gas against rioters but have failed to stop them. “Rage is what I feel for what has happened, rage,” a student taking part in the protests told the BBC. “This cop who did it must see what is to kill a kid and to destroy a life.” A funeral for the slain teenager, Alexandros Grigoropoulos, is being held on Tuesday.