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Israel delivered phone messages and dropped thousands of pamphlets over Gaza today warning residents to prepare for a more extensive ground operation. The leaflets urge residents to stay away from Hamas-friendly locations and assure them that Israel is targeting only Hamas, not civilians. One phone message said the “third stage” of the operation would start soon. The pamphlet drop comes as Israeli troops are advancing toward Gaza City, though they have yet to enter the most densely populated areas. Also today, Israel attacked dozens of Hamas targets, including rocket-launching sites and weapons stores, and United Nations relief operations resumed following a one day suspension prompted by fear for the safety of drivers. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority and leader of Hamas rival Fatah, is currently in Cairo taking part in cease-fire talks. He called on all sides to accept the proposal “without delay.”
The year isn't yet two weeks old, and layoffs are already making their mark on 2009. In the 10 days since New Year's Day, American companies have announced more than 30,000 job cuts. Yesterday Boeing said it would shed 4,500 jobs, while wresting giant WWE announced the elimination of 10 percent of its work force, or 60 jobs. Earlier in the week metals company Alcoa said it would cut 15,000 jobs, as thousands of other positions were shed across the country from companies like Daimler Trucks North America and Lenovo Group. Some businesses have reached their second round of layoffs, while others have begun offering early retirement, shorter workweeks, and cuts in pay and benefits. A December survey of US-based employers found that 23 percent expect to lay off workers in the next year and more than 15 percent expect to freeze salaries or hiring, cut spending on travel or training, or increase employees' contributions to health care premiums.
Obama is going to have a busy inauguration eve. And he’s going to be full. The president-elect will host a series of dinners on January 19 honoring Colin Powell, who endorsed Obama during the presidential election, Vice President-elect Joe Biden—and his old election foe, John McCain. “In these times of great challenge and great change, leadership requires rising above the same old narrow partisanship,” the president-elect said in a statement released by the committee. “Each of these distinguished Americans has spent his life in service to his country, at each and every moment placing the interests of America before issues of political party. That is precisely the spirit of common purpose we need as we begin the work ahead.” The events will be held at the National Building Museum, Union Station, and Hilton Washington.
What did Peter Madoff know and when did he know it? That’s the question raised by an interesting piece in this morning’s New York Times. Peter Madoff is Bernard’s brother and the chief compliance officer of the family business. Though it was originally thought that Bernard confessed to the whole family on December 10, The Times now says his brother may have been told about the alleged Ponzi scheme the day before. Should Peter Madoff have called authorities immediately? “If there is just a strict employee relationship, as chief compliance officer, there should be zero pause time before you report it,” one lawyer tells the paper. She adds, “He may just have needed a night to sleep on it—it was his brother, after all.” Bernard’s bail could be revoked Monday because of the gifts he sent out to loved ones, including Peter.
Just a day after former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin resigned from Citigroup, the ailing financial giant is in discussions to form a joint venture with Morgan Stanley that would combine the brokerage units of the two banks and give Morgan Stanley 51 percent ownership. Morgan would pay $3 billion for its stake in the new venture, increasing its presence in the financial services industry and giving Citi a much needed cash infusion. “There’s been a lot of pressure for Citi to monetize some of their more valuable assets and Smith Barney is certainly one,” said one money manager. “There’s also been a lot of pressure for Morgan Stanley to look at how they can better lever their business units.” The combined brokerage would be the world's largest, employing about 22,000 advisers, compared to 20,000 at Bank of America after its purchase of Merril Lynch. Announcement of the deal could come as soon as today.
No one thinks the Democrats have covered themselves in glory in the Roland Burris matter, but today’s Politico has some of the sharper anonymous quotes yet from the left side of the aisle. “A lot of people were pissed” about the Burris saga, says one Democrat. The paper contends that Harry Reid and his Senate allies erred when they didn’t call for a special election in Illinois; and when they underestimated the shamelessness of Rod Blagojevich and Burris himself—some Democrats had apparently hoped the issue would go away. Barack Obama, meanwhile, was vacationing Hawaii when the Burris appointment was announced and didn’t intervene to clarify matters. It wasn’t until Monday that he told Reid that Burris should be seated.
Here's one to file under "Never thought you'd see the day." Dick Cheney is, according to Dick Cheney, excited about Barack Obama's inauguration. In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, set to air on Sunday, Cheney not only cops to being excited about America's first black president, but he also admits that Obama's election is "really a remarkable story." After confessing to voting for John McCain, Cheney says, "I have the same feeling that I think many Americans have, that it's really remarkable that—what we're going to do here in a few days, is swear in the first African-American president of the United States. When I came to town in 1968, we'd had the Martin Luther King assassination, Bobby Kennedy assassination, riots in the cities, major, major disturbances, a lot of it racially motivated around the country. And in fact, things have changed so dramatically, that we're now about to swear in Barack Obama as president of the United States. That's really a remarkable story and I think a record of tremendous success and progress for the United States."
No points for saying this reminds you of The Wire: Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon was indicted Friday on 12 counts of theft, perjury, official misconduct, and fraud. Among the charges: that Dixon accepted $15,000 in gifts from her one-time boyfriend, a city developer, and took gift cards donated to poor families and used them buy gifts for herself. The Baltimore Sun has all the gory details: a typical allegation has police finding five Toys R Us cards intended for needy children at Dixon’s home. Perhaps hoping to escape the shadow of Blago, President-elect Obama was planning to meet Dixon in Baltimore next week.
Senate Republicans are licking their chops as they prepare for confirmation hearings for Eric Holder, Barack Obama's attorney general pick. Though many have speculated that Holder's role in the pardoning of Marc Rich in the waning days of the Clinton administration would cause problems during his confirmation hearing, recent weeks have seen the stakes rise. Both Karl Rove and Sen. Mitch McConnell have singled out Holder as the appointee who will face the toughest questions. Sen. Arlen Specter said Holder would have a chance to dispel the appearance that he had "served the interest of his superiors" rather than listening to lawyers in the Justice Department. And Sen. Chuck Grassley submitted a public record request this week to Illinois officials to learn more about Holder's connections to disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Meanwhile, Politico reports that one prominent Republican is coming out in support of Holder. Former Sen. John Warner, who just stepped down after 30 years in the Senate, will appear on behalf of the nominee at Thursday's Judiciary Committee hearings.
President-elect Barack Obama isn't going to bring change to one of Washington's oldest traditions: He says there will "probably" be some major donors among the 170 ambassadors he'll appoint. “It would be disingenuous for me to suggest that there are not going to be some excellent public servants but who haven’t come through the ranks of the civil service," he said. Obama has been urged to abolish the pay-for-play process, wherein major donors are rewarded with ambassadorships to placid European nations or sunny Caribbean vacation spots. Ambassadors have typically come from one of three groups: Foreign Service officers, distinguished career politicians, and major donors and fundraisers. Past presidents from both parties have found a plum ambassadorship a mighty fine way to return a favor. George W. Bush appointed Sam Fox, who donated $1 million to the GOP (and more to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth), as ambassador to Belgium. Bill Clinton made multimillion-dollar donor and businessman Larry Lawrence the ambassador to Switzerland. Donors need not worry about ending up under a mosquito net, though. “We have the hardship posts in Africa safely in our pocket,” retired American Foreign Service President Tex Harris said. “No one wants to go where you have to take a cholera pill."
It’s not a new Harry Potter novel, but it will have to do while that we wait for that series' next movie. In August, Dutton will publish Return to the Hundred Acre Wood, the first authorized sequel to the Winnie-the-Pooh books in years. The author is David Benedictus, who finally prevailed upon A.A. Milne’s estate to let him write a book. “We thought David had a wonderful feel for the material,” a Pooh trustee tells The Wall Street Journal. “No doubt some will say it's not as good as the original, but it's very good, and we're pleased with it."
In these trying times, even the Somali pirates have to write down their assets: After first demanding $25 million for the captured oil tanker Sirius Star, they settled yesterday for a ransom of about $3 million. The payment, enclosed in a waterproof container, was dropped near the ship by a small aircraft. The pirates were then allowed to make their escape. But karma then caught up with some of them, as their small boat capsized in rough seas. Five of the eight people on board died, and their cut of the ransom was lost at sea.
With provincial elections in Iraq only three weeks away, candidates are taking to the streets and, perhaps surprisingly, the web, to get their message out. With 14,400 candidates vying for 440 seats in 14 provinces, candidates are forced to do anything they can to stand out. For some, like provincial council candidate Fareeq Khazaali, that means embracing the art of text messages and Facebook, while others stick to the more traditional venues of pamphlets or, in some cases, bribes of cooking oil, blankets, and cash. "We are at the beginning of the right way toward democracy," said Judge Qasim Aboodi, chief of Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission, who acknowledges that there have been issues with vandalism of campaign material and exchanging gifts for votes. But the honest pols are the ones winning converts. "I respect the way this candidate is campaigning. He is now living among the people. They can ask him about himself or his political program. We rarely see such frankness and transparency among the politicians," one Iraqi voter said of Khazaali.
Depressing media news of the day: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer needs a buyer in the next 60 days or it will close or else reduce staff and move its operations to the Internet. The paper’s owner, Hearst, said in a statement, “In no case will Hearst continue to publish the P-I in printed form." Seattle’s other paper, the Times, has cut jobs and has a joint operating agreement with the P-I. "People are kind of depressed,” one editor said. “There's some crying.”
It's not easy being Ted Haggard. The former evangelical preacher and current insurance salesman has had a tumultuous couple years that have seen him kicked out of his church for admitting to a homosexual affair, relegated to bumming around Arizona in a U-Haul and exiled from Colorado. The tough times for Haggard and his family are documented in Alexandra Pelosi's candid upcoming HBO documentary, The Trials of Ted Haggard, which, he tells Newsweek, is "fair and even." Today, things are looking up for Pastor Ted, who has decided forgo a return to preaching in favor of a day job and is coming to terms with his sexuality. "I believe that sexuality is complex and confusing," he said. "I no longer struggle with homosexual compulsions. I still have thoughts from time to time, but they're not powerful thoughts. I still have temptations from time to time, but they're not powerful temptations." Both Haggard and his wife, Gayle, say their 30-year marriage has actually improved in the wake of the scandal.
A lead paragraph that got our attention this morning: “Gu Gu is not your typical soft and cuddly giant panda. For the third time, he's tasted the flesh of an unwitting intruder in his pen at the Beijing Zoo.” This from CNN, which reports that Zhang Jiao, 28, is latest human to run afoul of Gu Gu. Zhang and his son were tossing each other a panda doll that fell into Gu Gu’s pen. Zhang was mauled as he attempted to retrieve the toy. “The panda is a national treasure, and I love and respect [him], so I didn't fight back," Zhang is quoted as saying. "The panda didn't let go until it chewed up my leg and its mouth was dripping with my blood."
The most magical place on earth might be opening up another outpost halfway across the world, as the Walt Disney Co. prepares to submit plans to build its first theme park in mainland China. The mouse-loving company is working with the Shanghai municipal government on plans to open a $3.59 billion park as early as 2014. Once Disney and the municipal government reach a deal, it must be submitted to the central government for review. The legal and financial framework of the deal has already been set. Disney would take a 43 percent equity stake in Shanghai Disneyland, while a joint-venture holding company would own the majority 57 percent. The first phase of the project would include the construction of a theme park, hotel, and shopping district on one square mile near the city's airport and is expected to take five or six years. Chinese parents better start saving now.
He might have less than two weeks left in the White House, but President Bush isn’t done yet. According to senior administration officials, Bush, backed by the Obama team, is planning to ask Congress to release the second half of the $700 billion financial rescue package before he leaves office. If Congress declines, a possibility given its general opposition to that idea, Bush, not Obama, would wield the veto pen. Under legislation passed in October, the administration must inform Congress that it wants access to the money. Unless Congress rejects the request within 15 days, the Treasury can start tapping into the funds. If Congress does deny the request, the president could veto the decision and the Treasury can move forward. The Bush administration is coordinating its efforts with Obama’s transition team.
