E. Ralph Hostetter

The CIA will be directed by Leon Panetta, former chief of staff in the White House during the Clinton administration.

President-elect Barack Obama made the announcement this week.

The recession is here. Some say it arrived in August 2007. All admit that it is causing job losses by the tens of thousands weekly. Suggestions range from public works projects, particularly highway bridges, to other areas of the nation's infrastructure.

The Big Three automakers — GM, Ford, and Chrysler — may have made some concessions when they upped the ante from requesting a $25 billion bailout loan to $34 billion from Congress, but they need to fix a systemic problem to avoid the road to bankruptcy.

After the auto executives’ hearing on the first proposal, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said on Fox News: "What we need is to, A, show they're going to be accountable. This is a large sum of money they want and need. Secondly, to show how they're going to be viable in the long term."