Obama’s pick for Treasury, Timothy Geithner—he of the missed Medicare and Social Security tax payments and iffy nanny—has finally been confirmed by a Senate roll call vote, 60-34. Four Democrats joined in the “nay” vote: Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont (the last is actually an independent who caucuses with the Democrats). Politico reports Obama went to the Treasury Department and appeared with his newest Cabinet member for his swearing-in.

The week is off to a rough start on Wall Street as a slew of companies announced large job cuts this morning: Caterpillar is eliminating 20,000 jobs and lowering its earnings forecast because of the recession; Pfizer is firing 15% of its staff—or 19,000 people—after its acquisition of Wyeth is completed; Home Depot is cutting 7,000 jobs and closing its expo design centers; Sprint Nextel is slashing 8,000 jobs in an effort to save $1.2 billion; and Royal Philips Electronics will axe 6,000 positions. On Capitol Hill, meanwhile, Republicans are balking at President Obama's stimulus plan.

The first interview with President Obama goes to…al-Arabiya? In his first formal sitdown in the White House, the new president told the Dubai-based Arabic cable channel Monday his administration would strive for a more comprehensive approach in its relations with the Muslim world. “It is impossible for us to think only in terms of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and not think in terms of what's happening with Syria or Iran or Lebanon or Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he said. “These things are interrelated.” Obama also said he’d sent his Mideast peace envoy, former Sen. George Mitchell, to the region Monday night, adding, “I do believe that the moment is ripe for both sides to realize that the path that they are on is one that is not going to result in prosperity and security for their people. And that instead, it’s time to return to the negotiating table.”

Remember back in September, when the Treasury Department set up a $200 billion emergency fund for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Well, Freddie’s already scooped up $13.8 billion of that money and said Jan. 23 it will need $35 billion more. But Fannie had been holding off—until now. The country’s largest source of home-loan money said late Monday it needed between $11 billion and $16 billion to stay afloat in a deteriorating housing market. The request was “much worse” than expected, a fixed-income strategist tells Bloomberg, adding that one or both of the government-sponsored enterprises “may exceed the Treasury’s backstop this year.”

They may share the same name, but the new “Rice” in American foreign policy is striking a different note than Condi: Susan Rice, the new US ambassador to the United Nations, predicted today that the Obama administration will engage in “direct diplomacy” with Iran. The US hasn’t conducted direct diplomacy with Iran since before the 1979 revolution. The Bush administration hosted talks with Iran over Afghanistan and Iraq, but never about specifically Iranian issues, like the country’s nuclear program.

Fans of rabbit ears on televisions will be breathing a sigh of relief tonight—the Senate has just voted to delay the digital transition. The bill would put off the DTV, as the mandatory transition of television broadcasts from analog is known, from Feb. 17 to June 12. Under the DTV, those who rely on over-the-air TV must buy a digital TV or converter box, or sign up for cable or satellite TV. Obama has added his support to delaying the transition, which “hit a snag earlier this month when the U.S. Commerce Department was forced to set up a waiting list for people applying for $40 coupons to offset the cost of converter boxes,” The Wall Street Journal reports. The bill now needs to be approved in the House before the Feb. 17 cutoff date.

Might New York voters soon be giving Governor David Paterson the same treatment he gave Caroline Kennedy? A new poll from Siena College Research Institute shows that Paterson’s lead in a hypothetical matchup with state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has dwindled from 23 points last month to just two. Cuomo also has a better favorability rating than Paterson—64 to 60 percent. The governor’s lead in a hypothetical matchup with Rudy Giuliani has also shrunk to just two points, 44 to 42 down from 51 to 38 a month ago. Cuomo bests Giuliani 48 to 39 meanwhile.

We already knew Bono, Angelina, Larry Summers, Lloyd Blankfein, and even David Paterson weren’t going to Davos. But now comes word that Google’s Sergey Brin and Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack will skip the World Economic Forum’s annual event. Add to the list of no-shows Ken Griffin of Citadel Investments, whose fund lost 47 percent in 2008, and a co-chairman last year, Chevron CEO David O’Reilly. Things have gotten so bad at the Swiss resort, Condé Nast Portfolio reports, that the biggest story emerging from Davos is who’s not showing up.

What better way to revive a flagging Broadway than a big-budget Michael Jackson musical? The Nederlander Organization thinks so, anyway—it’s purchased the rights to produce a new play based on the 14-minute Thriller video, originally released in 1982. The company said in a statement the musical would be a “horror film spoof in which a young couple are out on a date on a beautiful full moon evening, when suddenly the young man, played by Jackson, turns into a werewolf.” The production, Playbill reports, will feature songs from Jackson’s huge-selling albums Thriller and Off the Wall. The King of Pop himself is expected to take part—no word yet on whether he’s starring.

With an ankle-braceleted Madoff cooped up in his Park Avenue pad, the Ponzi schemer’s Palm Beach home has been ripe for pranking. First came the theft of a $10,000 bronze yard sculpture from the property (it was replaced by a note: “Bernie the Swindler, Lesson: Return Stolen Property to rightful owners. Signed by—The Educators”). Now comes word of trust-funder revenge: A group of teenage boys toilet-papered the house, then called The Palm Beach Post to claim credit for the stunt, which they said their parents sanctioned. The boys said they lost their trust funds to Madoff and had papered his house in retaliation.

Last year, 3,276 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were detonated or detected in Afghanistan, a 45 percent increase over 2007 and new record, USA Today reports. The uptick in roadside bombs more than doubled the number of deaths of US-led coalition troops, from 75 to a record 161. The bombs wounded an additional 722 coalition troops in yet another grim record. The insurgency in Afghanistan is alive and kicking. As an analyst from the Bookings Institute put it, “We’re losing the war.” Army Gen. David McKiernan, the top troop commander in Afghanistan has asked to almost double the US forces in the region to 60,000 troops, even as Obama has pledged to devote more resources to the region.

John Thain, who resigned as CEO of Merrill Lynch on Thursday in the wake of The Daily Beast and CNBC breaking news that he spent $1.2 million on extravagant office renovations, promised today to repay Bank of America for the costs. In a memo obtained by CNBC, Thain also defended Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill, though he has been criticized for lack of transparency. Thain called his office renovations "a mistake in the light of the world we live in today."

President Obama’s outlawing of harsh interrogation techniques was praised by liberals and human-rights activists, but apparently they’re not as jubilant over at the C.I.A. In an interview with Jane Mayer at The New Yorker, new White House Counsel Greg Craig says that at the Agency, “They disagree in some respect.” It’s unclear if the C.I.A. will have to abide the same rules as the military, but Craig says that Obama “is somewhat sympathetic to the spies’ argument that their mission and circumstances are different.” Craig reveals that, during the transition, “Obama’s legal, intelligence, and national-security advisers visited Langley for two long sessions with current and former intelligence-community members.” He goes on to say that “There was unanimity among Obama’s expert advisers that to change the practices would not in any material way affect the collection of intelligence.”

Things have been pretty quiet from Iceland since it almost destroyed the world or something in the fall, but it turns out that the tiny arctic nation still has more havoc to wreak. Iceland’s government collapsed today, making it the first administration to fall victim to the global financial crisis. The country’s ruling coalition disintegrated and Prime Minister Geir Haarde resigned, leaving “the country without a government amid its most serious economic crisis in recent history,” according to the Financial Times. Mr. Haarde announced he had cancer on Friday and would step down after elections in MayHis announcement led to infighting that eventually destroyed the country’s ruling two-party coalition.

Rod Blagojevich isn't the only one with a court date today: More than ten years after its creation, the first trial at the International Criminal Court at the Hague is scheduled to open today. Sitting trial will be Thomas Lubanga, the Congolese warlord charged with using children as weapons of war and commanding a militia that committed atrocities. He is accused of recruiting children as young as 10 to his Union of Congolese Patriots and former children soldiers will testify. According to the Times of London, "to date the court has launched four investigations: into northern Uganda, Congo, the Central African Republic and Darfur. It has issued arrest warrants for 12 people. Six of them remain free, two have died and four are in custody."

Just because the markets have been tanking doesn't mean a buck can't be made. While the stock market's volatility has confounded the formulas of investment bankers and hedge-fund managers, it has also offered unprecedented opportunity to day traders, who monitor the markets second-by-second and thrive on short-term transactions. New York Magazine profiles day trader Peter Milman, who has made almost $500,000 in the past three months. Milman calculates his transactions via a controversial technique known as "technical analysis," analyzing not the value of the companies whose shares he's trading but rather "the movement of the crowds." One trader says "you become a psychologist of the stock market and trading off the mood." Says another, "Technical analysis has been thought of as a black art or voodoo. But it's no different than a football coach watching film to prepare for his next opponent."

The Nigerian police were embarrassed today after a vigilante group handed over a goat to authorities in Kwara State alleging it was a car thief that used witchcraft to change shape, the BBC reports. The belief in witchcraft and shape shifting is common in Nigeria, but the bizarre arrest highlights what police reformists say is the low education level of many Nigerian police officers and communities' reliance on badly prepared vigilante squads that patrol at night when the police will not. A police spokesman in Kwara said the "armed robbery" suspect would be held until the investigation was over.

Projections for the Year of the Ox, which started today, are dire, The New York Times reports. People are asking their astrologers when they are going to be laid off, instead of whether they should change from a medium to a big house. The prices of everything from Rolls-Royces to caterpillar fungus (a Chinese cure-all cooked into stews) have fallen. Silver lining for some looking for answers during the recession: According to Time, recent Ox years have seen financial difficulty, from 1997's financial meltdown in Asia to 1973's oil shocks.

Zsa Zsa Gabor is the latest in a string of high-profile figures to lose millions to the sultan of deceit, Bernard Madoff, The London Times reports. A lawyer for Gabor, who turns 92 next month, and her husband Frederic von Anhalt, 65, confirmed that the couple had as much as $10 million invested in the ponzi scheme through a third-party manager. Anhalt, the actress's ninth husband, said, "We might be forced to sell our Bel-Air home, cars, artwork and even our jewelry because of this sick man." He acknowledged that the couple is facing "financial ruin." Anhalt told the National Enquirer, which broke the story, that Madoff "should be dragged through the streets and flogged."

Who says cinematic schlock is the specialty only of the big studios? At the Sundance Film Festival this year, the Grand Jury Prize was awarded to Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire, which Nikki Finke describes as "the redemptive story of Precious Jones, a young girl in Harlem struggling to overcome tremendous obstacles and discover her own voice." Push shared the prize with We Live in Public, a documentary about "the Internet's revolutionary impact on human interaction." Winners in other categories include documentaries from Chile and the United Kingdom, and Afghan Star, a feature film about a pop idol in Afghanistan.

He’s a fighter. Mickey Rourke, the Golden Globe winner and Oscar-nominated star of The Wrestler, is ready to prove his might isn’t just for the big screen. “Now, Vince [McMahon] wants me to do WrestleMania in Houston,” he told Extra at the SAG Awards last night. “You better get yourself in shape, brother,” he warned wrestler Christ Jericho. “I'm going to do it!” he confirmed.

Each year, Slate tracks the top 60 philanthropic donors in an effort to create competition among the superwealthy. Although the top donations rose to $15.78 billion in 2008 from $7.79 billion in 2007, the list actually reflects the fact that in the economic crisis, the wealthiest Americans are giving cautiously. Thirteen of the 61 contributions come from bequests, accounting for $11.64 billion of the total, leaving a mere $4.14 billion donated from the living rich. The top two gifts, Leona Helmsley's $5.2 billion gift for the care and treatment of dogs and James LeVoy Sorenson's $4.5 billion to the arts and abused children, are bequests that exemplify another widespread trend this year: giving to eponymous foundations.

Rod Blagojevich is turning to his predecessors in these trying times. "I thought about Mandela, Dr. King, Gandhi and trying to put some perspective in all of this," the embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich said. But what would Jesus do? Blago's state Senate trial is scheduled to open today. Blago advised onlookers to interpret the Senate's surety of his guilt as a sign of his innocence. "I think what you'll see is a roll call that will be pre-designed, and we'll see whether or not I even get one vote." He said that to resign now "would be to disgrace my children." He is not expected to show up at his trial.

Erstwhile bipartisan champion and presidential candidate Sen. John McCain is speaking out (albeit slightly) against President Obama's administration, telling Fox News Sunday that while he pledges support for Americans to come together, that doesn't necessarily mean "that as the loyal opposition that I or my party will be a rubber stamp." The senator opposes the stimulus package as written because of its wasteful spending and lack of a timeline. "There should be an end point to all of this spending, say two years....We need serious negotiations," he said. "We're losing sight of what the stimulus is all about and that is job creation," said McCain, while also looking for a handout: "I think I can help in devising a strategy for Afghanistan."

Who's responsible for the dispute between Russia and Ukraine that threatened to cut off Western Europe's supply of natural gas? Why former President Bush, of course. That, at least, is what Vladimir Putin alleged in an interview with Bloomberg. Putin cited Bush's support of NATO membership for Ukraine and his desire to build a missile defense site in Poland as his reasons—"What happened in recent years in Ukraine is the result, to a significant extent, of the activities of the previous U.S. administration and the European Union, which supported it." Putin went on to say that he was "cautiously optimistic" about President Obama, and that he welcomed the new president's stated ambivalence over the missile defense project in Poland.

Federal records show President Bush accumulated quite a few presents from foreign dignitaries while in office. Unfortunately, according to law, he could only keep those valued at less than $335. What's missing from his Texas ranch? A Mont Blanc pen valued at $495, a riding coat, and a fishing rod worth over $800, all courtesy of former Australia Prime Minister John Howard. French President Nicolas Sarkozy gave Bush a $5,000 bronze statue of a horse encased in a leather box, while Vladimir Putin was less charitable, giving him two versions of English sonnets and a copper and brass samovar used to boil water for tea. Silvio Berlusconi gifted him with 12 silk neckties and Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet provided him with an electric harp worth $4,500.

Here's a potential mountain in the new financial landscape: According to The Washington Post, Congress is in talks to grant the Federal Reserve more financial oversight and allow it to analyze the inner workings of banks, investment firms, and insurance companies. Currently, no agency is responsible for understanding the risks of the entire financial system, and the meltdown of insurance firm AIG made the lack of understanding all too clear. "We need to give some regulator the power to restrain risk-taking that is excessive," said House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, who leads the legislation, which could be finalized by the House in Spring. The Fed currently operates with review by congressional authorities, and some officials are concerned the regulation plan could threaten the Fed's traditional independence and place too much power in one agency.

Slumdog Millionaire added a pair of trophies to its shelf over the weekend, increasing the heartwarming young-boy-gets-rich tale’s chances for Oscar gold. It won both outstanding movie cast from the Screen Actors Guild and best picture from the Producers Guild of America. At the SAG Awards, Anil Kapoor, who plays a game-show host in the film, said, "to win this is unbelievable," and called the head of Fox Searchlight Peter Rice "the man with the Midas touch" for releasing the unconventional Mumbai-set movie in the U.S. SAG also recognized Sean Penn and Meryl Streep last night for their respective roles in Milk and Doubt.

Not only has Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi put 3,000 troops on the streets in Italian cities in order to combat crime after a spate of violent rapes, but he has promised to increase that number “ten-fold” and confront “an evil army” of criminals. However, the billionaire leader said not to expect rape to disappear anytime soon. “We could not field a big enough force to avoid this risk [of rape]. We would need so many soldiers because our women are so beautiful.” Italy’s shadow equality minister said that Berlusconi “ought to refrain from saying offensive things about women,” while the opposition claims he is trying to create a police state.

As if Mexico’s drug wars weren’t perverse enough already: On Thursday, Mexican authorities arrested Santiago Meza Lopez, otherwise known as “El Pozolero” or “The Stew Maker.” Why the nickname? He used the grisly tools of acid and human remains—always male, as he refused to melt women—to “disappear” the enemies of Teodoro Garcia Semental, a notorious drug baron. Lopez was paid $600 a week and he claims to have “disappeared” 300 people. Relatives of 100 missing people want to show Lopez photos of their loved ones in hopes he will remember their faces. Lopez apologized to the relatives of his victims.

President Obama's Bush rollback continues: The Wall Street Journal reports that Obama plans "to call on the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday to consider allowing states including California to regulate automobile greenhouse-gas emissions." President Bush had previously rebuked California for trying to do so. Though national emissions standards are in place, California had hoped to accelerate reductions within its own borders. Obama is also planning to instruct the Department of Transportation to write new automobile fuel-economy standards by March so they can be implemented for model year 2011—a move Bush had pledged to take before leaving office but ultimately left to Obama.