Update 4:30pm:  Stories Making Headlines Right Now

Associated Press
Published: January 8, 2009

OBAMA-ECONOMY
    Obama warns of dire consequences without stimulus

President-elect Barack Obama is urging
Congress to work with him “day and night” to approve the largest
taxpayer-funded stimulus ever, saying a dire economic future is
certain without it.
    Speaking at George Mason University outside Washington, Obama
said “a bad situation could become dramatically worse” if
Washington doesn’t go far enough to address the spreading crisis.
    As Obama spoke, his economic advisers were on Capitol Hill to
brief Democratic lawmakers on details of the plan, which could cost
as much as $775 billion over two years in tax cuts and spending.
    But some senators from his own party are already criticizing his
plan to include big tax cuts.

WALL STREET
    UPDATE: Stocks finish mixed

Stocks turned in a mixed showing today as
investors continued to fret about consumers’ willingness to spend.
    The Dow Jones industrial average finished with a loss of 27
points at 8,742. However, advancing issues on the New York Stock
Exchange led losers 19-12 on volume of about 4.3 billion shares.
The Nasdaq composite index was up 18 points at the 1,617 level,
with roughly 1.9 billion shares traded. And the S&P 500 added three
points, closing at 909.
    A major factor in today’s trading was a profit warning from
Wal-Mart and news that December sales at stores open for at least a
year rose by 1.2 percent. That’s worse than analysts had expected.
    In addition, investors were looking ahead to tomorrow’s release
of the December employment report, which could show the loss of
a-half million jobs during the month.

ELECTORAL VOTES
    Congress officially declares Obama next president

Congress has officially declared Barack Obama
the next President of the United States after tallying electoral
college votes in a centuries old tradition.
    The House and Senate met in joint session to hear their
colleagues read off the electoral votes from the 50 states and the
District of Columbia. The outcome, never in doubt, was 365 votes
for Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden, and 173 votes for
John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin.
    Both Democrats and Republicans gave a standing ovation as Vice
President Dick Cheney, in his role as president of the Senate,
announced the vote count for Obama.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS
    Israel reports more rockets from Gaza Strip

Israeli police say militants in the Gaza Strip
fired 24 rockets into Israel today, injuring four people, one of
them seriously.
    The Israeli military says one soldier attached to a tank
battalion was killed by gunfire in the Gaza Strip.
    Twelve Israelis, including nine soldiers, have died since the
Dec. 27 beginning of the offensive against the Hamas militants in
charge of Gaza.
    The threat of a wider conflict arose today when militants in
Lebanon fired two rockets into northern Israel. One rocket crashed
into a retirement home, but there were no serious injuries. Israel
responded with mortar shells.
    Meanwhile, a Palestinian health official says 35 bodies were
discovered today in Gaza during a three-hour pause in fighting. The
official says 746 Palestinians have died in Israel’s 13-day
offensive.
    The U.N. and the Red Cross have curtailed aid shipments in the
Gaza Strip after accusing Israeli forces of firing on their
drivers, killing one.

ILLINOIS GOVERNOR-PROSECUTORS
    UPDATE: Blagojevich lawyers want US attorney off case

Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s defense attorneys have
asked a federal judge to throw U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and
all his assistants off the fraud and bribery case against him.
    Chief defense counsel Edward Genson said in a motion Thursday
that the news conference Fitzgerald held in announcing the charges
was so filled with prejudicial publicity that the prosecutor should
bow out.
    The full text of the motion wasn’t immediately available because
it had been filed under seal. But it was described by U.S. District
Court Chief Judge James Holderman, who ordered it unsealed, and by
Blagojevich attorney Sheldon Sorosky.
    Fitzgerald spokesman Randall Samborn had no immediate comment.

BUSH
    Bush wants education law kept after he leaves

President George W. Bush is urging
President-elect Barack Obama and the Democratic-led Congress not to
abandon the No Child Left Behind law.
    The president argues that do so would “weaken a chance for a
child to succeed in America.“
    The president marked the seventh anniversary of No Child Left
Behind today with remarks at General Philip Kearny School in
Philadelphia. It was his final policy address as president.
    No Child Left Behind remains one of Bush’s top domestic
achievements, and he considers it vital to his legacy. Approved
with strong bipartisan support in 2001, the school accountability
law still has support from key Democrats, but it has grown deeply
unpopular, and Obama has pledged to revamp it.
    But Bush says, “Now is not the time to water down standards or
to roll back accountability.“

DIGITAL TV TRANSITION
    Obama team urges delay in digital TV transition

  President-elect Barack Obama is urging
Congress to postpone the Feb. 17 switch from analog to digital
television broadcasting.
    In a letter to key lawmakers, transition team co-chair John
Podesta warned Thursday that too many Americans who rely on analog
TV sets to pick up over-the-air broadcasts won’t be ready.
    The incoming administration is pushing for a delay in part
because the Commerce Department has run out of money for the
coupons that subsidize digital TV converter boxes for consumers.
People who don’t have cable or satellite TV or a new TV with a
digital tuner will need the converter boxes to keep their analog
TVs working.
    Obama officials are also concerned that the government is not
giving consumers enough help with the TV transition.

OBAMA-DEFENSE
    NEW: Obama picks Clinton aide as Pentagon No. 2

President-elect has chosen a longtime
Democratic defense expert to be the Number Two official at the
Pentagon.
    William Lynn was a top Pentagon budget official under former
President Clinton and a defense adviser to Democratic Senator
Edward Kennedy before that. If confirmed by the Senate he would
become Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ deputy. Gates is staying on
in the top civilian job.
    Obama’s transition office announced the names of several other
Pentagon selections on Thursday, including Michele Flournoy for the
No. 3 job. She’s been the co-chair of Obama’s Pentagon transition
team.
    In a statement, Obama said he is confident his picks will help
build what he called a sustainable national security strategy that
answers the threats of the 21st century.

SURGEON GENERAL
    NEW: Conyers opposes CNN’s Gupta for surgeon general

A key Democratic House member is rallying
opposition to Dr. Sanjay Gupta becoming the next surgeon general.
    House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers contends the
39-year-old CNN chief medical correspondent lacks experience.
    Conyers is calling on Democrats to sign onto a letter to
President-elect Barack Obama urging him not to nominate Gupta.
    CNN has said Obama approached Gupta to become the next surgeon
general. Obama has not yet announced his choice for the position,
which typically disseminates public health information.
    Gupta hosts “House Call” on CNN, contributes reports to CBS
News, and writes a column for Time magazine. He is a neurosurgeon
and on the faculty at Emory University School of Medicine in
Atlanta.
    During the Clinton administration, he was a White House fellow
and special adviser to then-first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.

JETS-FAVRE
    NEW: Report: Favre taking month before deciding future

Brett Favre is going to take his time
before deciding whether to return with the New York Jets next
season.
    The 39-year-old quarterback tells ESPN that he’s following the
advice of Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum by not making a
hasty decision on his future.
    Favre says he plans to make a quiet decision without a public
news conference if he does retire, unlike the emotional departure
last offseason when he announced he was stepping away from the game
only to return a few months later.
    Favre is disappointed with how his first season ended with the
Jets, who lost four of their last five games and missed the
playoffs after an 8-3 start. He takes a large part of the blame for
the club’s late-season struggle but says that won’t necessarily
increase his desire to come back.