Reinforcements are joining Obama’s White House transition team to review government agencies and expedite the handover of power, The Wall Street Journal reports. But the bigger news is the new ethics rules the team is putting in place: No political action committees, corporations, or lobbyists may donate to the president-elect’s transition fund. Taxpayers are chipping in $8.5 million for the transition costs, and Obama will seek $3.5 million more from individual donors, said John Podesta, the team’s co-chairman. Podesta also suggested Obama would begin making Cabinet appointments faster than previous presidents have, according to the Journal, adding the administration would “have Republicans and independents, not just at a token level.”

Bad news for G.M.: Yesterday, a Deutsche Bank analyst put a price target of zero on its stock. According to DealBook, when experts tried to imagine a G.M. bankruptcy three years ago, they failed due to the company’s largeness and complexity. Unsecured creditors, bondholders, labor unions, retirees, shareholders, and dealerships would all be involved. The biggest standoff would be with UAW workers, although bankruptcy would allow G.M. to reject its collective bargaining agreements with a judge’s approval. President-elect Obama is trying to avert this scenario by championing a bailout. Politico reports today that he would attach to it a point person who would oversee auto industry reforms.

Neel Kashkari, the man Paulson has appointed to buy up bad debt in the banks, is getting a rough ride from the financial world. His speech to a conference of bankers in Midtown Manhattan fell flat and he failed to explain exactly who he is giving loans to from the $2 trillion of taxpayers’ money he presides over. So Bloomberg News is suing under the Freedom of Information Act. Two months after Paulson and Ben Bernanke, the Fed chairman, promised transparency over who is benefiting from the massive bailout, “Americans have no idea where their money is going or what securities the banks are pledging in return,” reports Bloomberg, which is determined to find out through the courts.

Michael Lewis wrote Liar’s Poker in 1985. “In the two decades since then,” he writes in the new issue of Portfolio, “I had been waiting for the end of Wall Street.” This year, it arrived. Lewis profiles Steve Eisman in his article, a hedge-fund manager who was among the first to detect the weakness of the subprime mortgage market, and who has made a fortune from shorting it and everyone with a hand in it: first, the lenders; then the ratings agencies; finally, the big banks. The subprime market was actually too small to feed investors’ appetites, so they created side bets. “The arrangement bore the same relation to actual finance as fantasy football bears to the N.F.L.” Lewis writes. He continues: “In retrospect, pretty much all of the riskiest subprime-backed bonds were worth betting against; they would all one day be worth zero. What [Eisman and his team] were doing, oddly enough, was the analysis of subprime lending that should have been done before the loans were made.”

The New Oxford American Dictionary is out with its Word of the Year, and it’s hypermiling, coined in 2004 by Wayne Gerdes. The definition: ‘Hypermiling’ or ‘to hypermile’ is to attempt to maximize gas mileage by making fuel-conserving adjustments to one’s car and one’s driving techniques. Rather than aiming for good mileage or even great mileage, hypermilers seek to push their gas tanks to the limit and achieve hypermileage, exceeding EPA ratings for miles per gallon.” Though hypermiling went mainstream this year as gas prices soared, AAA has condemned the practice as unsafe, particularly hypermilers’ insistence on overinflating tires and rolling through stop signs.

Jennifer Aniston has called Angelina Jolie's admission that she fell in love with Brad Pitt while he and Aniston were still married "a little inappropriate to discuss" and "very uncool." The always hyperbolic Daily Mail terms the comment “explosive” and filled with “utter contempt.” The interview comes shortly after Angelina Jolie revealed that her relationship with Pitt started earlier than reported, when he was still together with Aniston. A source called the comment “hugely significant.” We’ll let you figure out exactly how that is.

Rolling Stone has the first review of Guns N’ Roses long awaited new album, Chinese Democracy. The band’s first new songs since 1991 make a “great, audacious, unhinged, and uncompromising hard-rock record.” Some tracks feature five distinct guitar parts and “most of these songs also go through multiple U-turns in personality.” Over the 13 years, lead singer Axl Rose recorded the album in 14 studios and was ditched by every other founding member of the band. One might think that it would have taken a toll on Rose, but he “still sings a lot about the power of sheer, solitary will even when he throws himself into a bigger fight.”

Now that election season is over, we can all go back to fretting about the economy—and now leprosy. Turns out the old school disease is still around in Texas, which reports about 15 new cases every year. The Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department reports that a new case of leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, was diagnosed this year, and a few other people are in treatment. “Typically we might see a case or two every couple of years,” a spokeswoman told The Austin American-Statesman. Among the symptoms are skin changes, skin lesions, and nosebleeds—and the disease should be caught early. If it’s not treated properly, “the attack on the nervous system is often irreversible,” the paper reports.

Sixty-five feet under the sand in Saqqara, Egypt, archaeologists have discovered a new pyramid. It’s the 118th pyramid found in the country so far, though only about a dozen are intact; the rest are in ruins. This one was built 12 miles south and a few hundred years after the Great Pyramids of Giza, and “most likely belonged to the queen mother of the founder of Egypt’s 6th Dynasty,” Queen Sesheshet, the Associated Press reports. It’s part of the burial site of the kings of ancient Memphis and was once 45 feet high, though just 16 feet remain. Expect more news from the site in two weeks, when the team of archaeologists expects to enter the burial chamber inside the pyramid.

Election Night in Washington, D.C., was a rambunctious affair, with crowds dancing in the streets and storming the White House. And it was, by all indicators, only a warm-up for President Obama’s inauguration. Organizers are expecting the turnout to exceed the record 1.5 million people who showed up for Lyndon Johnson in 1965, and the city’s hotels are almost entirely booked already. The government has printed 250,000 tickets, which will be given to congressmen and senators to distribute to constituents. They may sell for as much as $40,000, which has outraged Sen. Dianne Feinstein so much that she is drafting legislation making it a crime to sell them.

Recently, some Frenchmen complained that the “Picasso and the Masters” exhibit in Paris was too middlebrow. What, then, will they make of an exhibit by Wally from Leave It to Beaver? Tony Dow will have one of his abstract sculptures on display at the Louvre as part of the Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts exhibition. Dow’s sculpture is named the “Unarmed Warrior” and is a woman holding a shield cast in bronze. "Of course, I'm really proud of Leave It to Beaver and my directing career in television," Dow said. "Those are great accomplishments. I'm really proud of them, but this is interesting because I don't think they know anything about that at the Louvre."

Last week, Newsweek unleashed its quadrennial campaign opus—a deeply-reported piece of writing that spans some 50,000 words. Major revelations include Sarah Palin appearing in a towel before McCain aides; a shadowy cyber-attack on both campaigns; and a full list of the negative commercials the McCain campaign deemed too ugly to air. The Daily Beast staff has plowed through the article's seven chapters and presents a guide to the scoopiest bits. You'll never think of the 2008 campaign the same way again.

When a nuclear-armed B52 bomber scanning for incoming Soviet missiles crashed into the ice on January 21, 1968, scattering its four bombs which detonated but failed to set off their unarmed warheads, a great search was launched. But when fragments were found from only three of the weapons the US launched a submarine search for the missing bomb, being careful to disguise the nature of their secret mission from Danish officials. Forty years on, the missing nuke remains unfound on the sea bed.

It’s official: Coke-addicted celebrities can blame their parents for their addiction. According to the Guardian, scientists led by Rainer Spanagel, a professor of psychopharmacology at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim, Germany, believes he has pinpointed the gene that controls cocaine addiction. The study looked at 670 cocaine addicts and more than 700 non-users, and found addicts were 25% more likely to carry the gene than non-addicts. Genetic factors may be responsible for up to 70% of cocaine addiction, meaning that addiction can be inherited.

Nasa’s popular Mars Phoenix Lander mission has come to an end. The lander, beloved by many who followed it on its Twitter feed, is frozen on Mars’s arctic plane after the energy for its internal heaters ran out. But it had a good run. It was originally built to last just 90 days but ended up continuing on for an extra two months. The 25,000 photographs and dozens of tests performed by the lander will take months to analyze, but already the mission is seen as a success. The lander also had the distinction of being the first spacecraft to “taste” Martian water. Around 4:30 Monday, the Mars Phoenix lander twittered its last words: “01010100 01110010 01101001 01110101 01101101 01110000 01101000<3” (translation: “Triumph.”)

The traditional image of Spanish bullfighting is one man against one angry bull. Less well known, but no less respected, are the rejoneadores who ride horses while bullfighting. Three of them have been charged in a Toledo court for killing and injuring 12 horses belonging to their fierce rivals, the Domecq family. The defendants hired Colombian hit men to firebomb the Domecqs’ horses. A rejoneador’s horse is highly trained in intricate footwork required for the bullfights, and the deaths of six and injuries of six others were a huge financial and sporting blow to the Domecqs.

David Brooks, a self styled “moderate” conservative, sees little chance of a Republican electoral resurgence in the medium term because “traditional” conservatives have snaffled all the funds. “Reformist donors don’t seem to exist,” he complains. “Any publication or think tank that headed in an explicitly reformist direction would be pummeled by its financial backers.” And right-wing ardor is too unforgiving to allow moderate, electable Republicans from doing well. “Anybody who deviates toward the center, who departs from established doctrine, is a coward and a sellout.” He accuses traditional conservatives of “living inside the large conservative cocoon and telling each other things they already agree with.”

Minnesota's reputation for niceness may take a hit as it prepares for the recount of its neck-and-neck Senate race on the national stage. The already heated contest between Norm Coleman and Al Franken "won't be settled for at least another month," writes Politico, as the state prepares for a hand recount that legal challenges will undoubtedly prolong. The recount could extend well into the 111th Congress, forcing Democrats to decide whether to seat Franken and jeopardizing Coleman's bid for National Republican Senatorial Committee chairmanship, even if he eventually wins. Coleman, who currently leads by 206 votes, has called on Franken to concede, even though the state automatically grants a recount in races where the victory margin is less than 0.5 percent, and in this case, it is less than 0.01 percent.

Norman Mailer would have been so proud. According to a Washington Post report, the “Naked and the Dead” author was tracked by FBI agents for 15 years on direct orders from the cross dressing FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. The Feds were set on Mailer in 1962, after Hoover read an article in which Mailer mocked Jacqueline Kennedy for being soft-spoken. For the next 15 years, FBI agents kept tabs on Mailer, including circulating his photo to informants and, more than once, knocked on his door disguised as deliverymen. Of Mailer's 1968 book, "Miami and the Siege of Chicago," an agent wrote, "It is written in his usual obscene and bitter style. Book contains reference to . . . uncomplimentary statements of the type that might be expected from Mailer regarding the FBI and the Director."

At Northwestern University, Obama’s publicity loving former pastor Jeremiah Wright eked out his fading 15 minutes of fame by offering “just some points of clarification” about how he had been thrust into the national spotlight. The election of the first black President he found “incredibly powerful” and “awesomely inspiring.” Was he unfairly treated by the media? “Ray Charles can see that,” he said. As for his “God damn America” sermon, he said no one made much of a fuss when a white professor at Harvard said a similar thing in 1901. Well, that’s all right, then. Sitting in the audience was none other than Weather Underground terrorist William Ayers, whose ties to Sen. Obama also made headlines during the presidential campaign.

Who is running North Korea in the absence of Kim Jon Il, who is rumored to have been incapacitated by a stroke for weeks? Signs point towards his brother-in-law, Jang Song-Taek. South Korean intelligence believes Jang is either channeling Kim's orders, or standing in for him in day-to-day affairs. Jan appears to be no more of a Democrat than Kim: He heads the state's security and police agencies. According to one official, however, "We find it rather fortunate that Jang Song-Taek, not the military, is in effect governing the North."

In case you were worried: Madonna has allowed her sons to visit their father in London. According to The Telegraph, she included with the boys a list of instructions that Guy Ritchie must obey: the boys must only drink Kabbalah water, even if it is diluted with Orange juice; they cannot read newspapers, magazines, or watch TV and DVDs; they must adhere to their macrobiotic vegetarian organic diet; they should have telephone access to mommy three or four times a day; and they must not be photographed with their father. Ritchie has apparently already run afoul of that last edict—The Telegraph article includes a snapshot of him and his sons.

An international wrinkle to the Obamas’ dog search: A group of Peruvians want to gift the future first family with a particularly unsightly pooch. The Daily Telegraph reports the Friends of the Peruvian Hairless Dog Association have sent a letter offering to send 4-month-old Ears over to the White House. The Peruvian Hairless, “a bald and often toothless breed once popular with Incan kings,” is nonetheless hypo-allergenic, an Obama requirement. Ears is ready to go, “But if we send it to the United States, its official name will be Machu Picchu,” the president of the dog association said.

In its early stages, Barack Obama's change is looking pretty Clintonesque. Rahm Emanuel was a Clinton adviser, and Clinton's former chief of staff, John Podesta, is heading the transition team that will be aided by old Clinton hands like Carol Browner, William Daley, and Frederico Pena. This is drawing fire from the left of the Democratic party, but many believe it is necessary for Obama to staff his administration with experience so he can hit the ground running come January 20. Bloomberg also has word of what would be, at this point, the ultimate Clinton coup. Hillary for Secretary of State. According to two Obama advisers, the idea has been discussed.

Can you tell one Emanuel brother from his siblings? In the post-election news tundra, tidbits about Rahm (Rahmbo, new Obama chief of staff), Ari (big Hollywood agent, inspiration for Entourage character), and Zeke (doctor, health care policy expert) have sustained us. Now comes Wonkette’s new “Advanced Emanuel Brothers Personality Test From Hell” to help readers find which Emanuel they most resemble. Sample question: “It’s time to attend a small elite in-the-middle-of-nowhere four-year liberal arts college. You choose: A. Amherst; in western Massachusetts, the only person around to give an inferiority crisis to is yourself; B. Sarah Lawrence; grades are for the weak and the academically inclined; or C. Macalester; it’s neither Sarah Lawrence nor Amherst.”

Keith Olbermann has got his reward for backing the right election candidate right from the start of the primaries. A grateful network has extended his contract for another four years and bumped up his pay from $4 million to $7.5 million a year. He will preside over his nightly rant show Countdown and will co-host Football Night in America. Olbermann, in a press release, said, “It's delightful to have a true home.” Asked on The View what he was going to get angry about now Obama is heading for the White House, he said, “We’re switching to all Mariah Carey as of tonight.” It’s witty ripostes like that that make him such a great broadcaster.

Among the Obama family’s activities in its busy day in Washington was the assignation by the Secret Service of codenames: “Renegade” for Barack; “Renaissance” for Michelle; “Radiance” for Malia; and “Rosebud” for Sasha. A nice alliterative bunch, although one wonders about the point of codenames if they so quickly become public?