SPB News for Tuesday.

High court won't hear 2nd Obama challenge

Report: Obama To Tap Chicago Schools Chief As Sec. Of Ed.

Dems Announce Expected Senate Chairmanships

Time DC Chief Carney To Be Biden's Communications Dir.

Report: Salazar Poised To Head Interior Department

Leahy Delays Holder Hearings To Placate GOPers

Cheney Backs Waterboarding: 'We Don't Do Torture

Rights group says filed 200 lawsuits against Rumsfeld, US security firms for torture --Group head: Around 30 lawsuits have been accepted; others still under consideration A Jordan-based Iraqi rights group said on Monday it has filed 200 lawsuits against US former defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and American security firms for their alleged role in torturing Iraqis. Ali Qeisi, head of the group the "Society of Victims of the US Occupation in Iraq," said the cases, relating to torture and abuse of Iraqi prisoners, have been recently filed in federal courts in Virginia, Michigan and Maryland. "The torture was systemic, and those responsible for it should be punished and the victims should be compensated," he said. Qeisi said he himself was tortured by US troops in Iraq during a six-month detention, though he refused to elaborate.

Chertoff: Obama shouldn't rush on Guantanamo Bay U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said on Sunday that President-elect Barack Obama shouldn't rush to close Guantanamo Bay before he has a plan to deal with all the prisoners. In an interview with BBC television, Chertoff said Obama must work out how to prosecute detainees, particularly those who can't be sent back to their own countries for trial, before he closes down the facility.

Suspicious Powder In Letter to Gov. Gregoire A suspicious white powder was found overnight in a letter addressed to Gov. Chris Gregoire (D), reports the Associated Press. State Patrol Sgt. Ted DeHart says the letter has been sent to the Health Department for testing. The letter was received at about 2 a.m. Monday in the state's mail processing hub in Olympia.

Bush loophole guts bailout restrictions on executive pay Congress wanted to guarantee that the $700 billion financial bailout would limit the eye-popping pay of Wall Street executives, so lawmakers included a mechanism for reviewing executive compensation and penalizing firms that break the rules. But at the last minute, the Bush regime insisted on a one-sentence change to the provision, congressional aides said. This small change looks more like a giant loophole, according to lawmakers and legal experts.

Goldman faces $2bn loss – its first since 1929 --As the banking giant prepares to unveil shock figures, Morgan Stanley braces itself to add its own bad news Goldman Sachs, the US investment bank, is this week expected to post its first loss since the Wall Street crash of 1929 when it unveils full-year results on Tuesday. In the week when many Square Mile bank staff find out if they have scooped a bonus this year, Morgan Stanley is expected to complete a miserable Christmas picture when it also reports a loss, one day later.

States' Funds for Jobless Are Drying Up With unemployment claims reaching their highest levels in decades, states are running out of money to pay benefits, and some are turning to the federal government for loans or increasing taxes on businesses to make the payments. Thirty states are at risk of having the funds that pay out unemployment benefits become insolvent over the next few months, according to the National Association of State Workforce Agencies. Funds in two states, Indiana and Michigan, have already dried up, and both states are borrowing from the federal government to make payments to the unemployed.

Gov. Paterson to Propose $4 Billion in Taxes and Fees to Close Deficit (NY) Gov. David A. Paterson will propose a $4 billion package of taxes and fees on a range of items, from sugary soft drinks to luxury items like furs and boats, when he unveils his plan to close a deficit that has ballooned to $15 billion, people with knowledge of the plan said on Sunday.