In a scene like no other on Capitol Hill, the man appointed to fill Barack Obama's old Senate seat showed up today, and was quickly shown the door.
Senate leaders don't want to seat Roland Burris because he was appointed by disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, even though Burris did nothing wrong.
For now, they're relying on a technicality - that the Illinois secretary of state never certified the appointment. But many legal experts think Burris would prevail in court.
Former comedian Al Franken wasn't sworn in either, because Republicans are challenging his 225-vote lead out of almost three million cast in Minnesota's Senate race.
The battle over that seat could take weeks. The fight in Illinois could drag on for months. With our economy in such bad shape, Congress has a full agenda, starting with Mr. Obama's stimulus package. This is one distraction neither he nor the Senate needs right now.
Our sister blog, Political Hotsheet, is pointing to an item in the Washington Post reporting that President-elect Barack Obama will announce he is tapping CNN correspondent and CBS News contributor Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a neurosurgeon, to be surgeon general. Could Dr. Gupta be heading to Washington? Brian Montopoli writes:
The Washington Post, citing two sources, is reporting that Obama has offered Gupta the job.
"Gupta has told administration officials that he wants the job, and the final vetting process is under way," reported the Post. "He has asked for a few days to figure out the financial and logistical details of moving his family from Atlanta to Washington but is expected to accept the offer."
CBS News can confirm through a source close to Dr. Gupta that the doctor was offered the position.
Read the full post and check out some of Gupta's work for CBS Newshere.
Tony Maciulis is a CBS News producer based in New York.Don’t call his work “ripped from the headlines.” Novelist Richard North Patterson may write about some very timely themes, but he is generally ahead of the headlines.
His latest novel, "Eclipse," his fifteenth to date, was inspired by some historic events in Nigeria, but its implications will reach far into the future.
We had a chance to chat with him via email and telephone.
Q. You are not one to shy away from controversial subjects in your novels. You’ve written about abortion, gun control, the conflict in the Middle East – just about everything they tell us not to talk about at dinner parties! What inspired you to write about oil in Africa?
(Peter Simon)
A. The genesis of "Eclipse" lies in tragic events that occurred in Nigeria almost fifteen years ago, when a courageous environmental activist, Kent Saro-Wiwa, was hanged by General Sani Abacha, the country’s brutal and corrupt dictator. The crime of which Saro-Wiwa stood accused, on flimsy evidence, was ordering the murder of four local chiefs who were his political rivals within the Ogoni, Sari-Wiwa’s ethnic group. The tribunal that tried him was summoned into existence by Abacha and answerable to him alone; its arbitrary proceedings had little in common with courts as we know them, or with other courts in Nigeria. In the minds of most observers, Saro-Wiwa’s true crime was to protest the excesses of the government and petroleum companies in the Niger Delta, and to seek for the Ogoni and others at least some of the benefits accruing to the oil companies and the kleptocratic regime of General Abacha. To this day ... More...
While Bernard Madoff, the financier accused of running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, was in a New York courtroom Monday answering to prosecutors, lawmakers in Washington held their first hearing on Madoff's investment scandal.
Democratic lawmakers charged that the Securities and Exchange Commission had “failed miserably” in ignoring warnings that could have uncovered wrongdoing years ago.
But as CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports on the CBS Evening News, a crucial witness in helping determine how Madoff's scheme evaded regulators was a no-show: whistleblower Harry Markopolos.
He agreed to testify at first, but ended up telling Congress he was too physically worn down and needs more time.
Markopolos, A derivatives expert, first alerted officials ... More...
CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips interviewed Israeli military analyst Alon Ben-David at the Israel-Gaza border. Following is a partial transcript of that interview.Alon Ben-David: We are at the beginning of the second phase of this operation where the idea is to give Hamas a sense of a genuine threat on the regime inside Gaza so we have Gaza encircled by the IDF…. I am not sure that this is a point where we want them to be. I think that Israel is trying to create a more stronger effect of deterrence on the other side so we are not quite there yet, the question I think is if we are going to go to the third phase or the second will suffice to reach those objectives.
Mark Phillips: What's the third phase?
Ben-David: The third phase naturally will be expanding the ground operation. You see the calling up of tens of thousands of reservists. Right now I think there is still genuine desire to avoid ... More...
The New Year has brought renewed violence to the Middle East. For 10 days, Israelis and Palestinians have exchanged rocket fire. Five-hundred Palestinians are reported dead, including 100 civilians. As Israel flexes its military muscle with ground troops, Hamas continues to fire rockets deeper into Israel, making the prospect of a ceasefire nothing more than wishful thinking at this point.
President-elect Barack Obama has been silent on the conflict, stating that our nation only needs one president at a time.
It's true that weighing in on specific foreign policy could contradict President Bush and send mixed signals to the global community. But there are about a million people without electricity, food supplies are running short, and hospitals are overburdened in Gaza.
As one United Nations spokesman said, this is a humanitarian crisis.
Now is the time when protocol, and the desire not to step on toes, should take a back seat to both leaders working together before it is too late.
Mark Knoller is a White House Correspondent for CBS News, temporarily reporting from the CBS News Pet Desk at the White House.
(White House Photo)
You had to feel sorry for India the Cat as the least-known member of the First Family. She never got quite the same level of public attention or affection as the Bush Family dogs Barney and Miss Beazley.
Quietly this morning, the First Lady’s press office let it be known that India, a black American Shorthair, died yesterday in the White House at the age of 18.
The story goes that India got her name from one of the Bush’s twin daughters, Barbara. When she was nine, she named the cat for former Texas Ranger baseball player Ruben Sierra – who was called “El Indio.”
The Bush Family also took to calling the cat “Willie” or just plain “Kitty.”
One of India's favorite pastimes, according to First Lady Laura Bush, was to sun herself on a chair near the Palladian window at ... More...
Okay, so you've heard "man's best friend" cliche over and over. But one dog moved on to a bigger - much, much bigger - mammal to befriend. She was the subject of Friday's Assignment America with Steve Hartman. Meet Tarra and Bella, the pachyderm-canine duo of the Tennessee's Elephant Sanctuary.
Every year I vow to improve myself in some way, shape or form, and every year I fail spectacularly. I never ran that marathon. I never learned to speak Russian, or Arabic, or Icelandic. I never sponsored an endangered animal or a politician, and I have yet to ride a unicycle.
It is a mathematical certainty that if I vow to do something, it is not going to happen. In fact, usually the complete opposite occurs. So in that defeatist and antithetical spirit, I resolve to do the following things in 2009: More...
It may have had its ups and downs, but 2008 was anything but dull.
We saw an historic primary race between Senators Clinton and Obama, and the election of our first African American president. Governor Sarah Palin captivated fans and foes alike, and Tina Fey's impersonation put SNL back on the map... More...
Obama Breaks Silence On Gaza (2:09) As violence continues in the streets of Gaza, President-elect Obama has finally spoken out about the conflict. As Chip Reid reports, there are new questions about future U.S. policy towards Israel.
Israel OK's Gaza "Humanitarian Corridor"
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