CQ Politics' Web Picks

Wall Street Journal: Bill Clinton Speech Fees Topped $4.7 Million in '08

Former President Bill Clinton earned more than $4.7 million last year in speaking fees from engagements in countries around the world, including Kuwait and China, according to a new disclosure report, creating potential conflicts for his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Christian Science Monitor: Is Michelle Rhee the New Face of Education Reform?

The chancellor of Washington, D.C., public schools puts teacher performance at the center of a controversial bid to remake one of the nation's most troubled urban school districts. Since she was appointed chancellor in June 2007, the young Korean-American has brought sweeping changes and a stern hand to the Washington public school system. She has fired hundreds of teachers, principals, and administrators, as well as shuttered 23 underattended schools.

BBC: Iranian leader demands US apology

Iran's president has responded to an overture by the new US president by demanding an apology for past US "crimes" committed against Iran.The US "stood against the Iranian people in the past 60 years," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during an address in the western region of Khermenshah. "Those who speak of change must apologise to the Iranian people and try to repair their past crimes," he said.

NBC Chicago: Live Video of Blagojevich Impeachment Trial

NBCChicago.com is offering live video of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's impeachment trial each day. The trial continues at 9:30 a.m. (central time) Wednesday. There will be more questions about the secretly-recorded audio tapes of the governor and lobbyists that are at the heart of the FBI investigation.

Rolling Stone: Blago's Revenge

How Barack Obama and Rahm Emanuel could have missed what the guy was all about seems like a mystery now -- the gnomish Blagojevich, with his wiglike bob of purplish pimp hair, flat-out looks like a slimeball, or an escapee from a movie about sexually deviant mobsters. And indeed, almost immediately upon election, Blagojevich contrived to sell a truly awesome smorgasbord of state jobs and regulatory favors to the highest bidder -- everything from contracts for Dunkin' Donuts franchises at toll oases to a state-parks administrator job allegedly bought with a $1,500 check to Blagojevich's seven-year-old daughter.

New York Times: Gillibrand's Immigration Views Draw Fire

Since her appointment by Gov. David A. Paterson last week to fill the Senate seat vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has found herself besieged by immigrant advocates and Democratic colleagues who have cast her as out of step with a majority of the state, with its big cities and sprawling immigrant enclaves.

Weekly Standard: Ground Zero for the GOP

The guessing game about whether Republicans can bounce back is intensifying in Virginia thanks to the 2009 gubernatorial race--the first big political race of the Obama era.

Washington Independent: Study Contradicts Auto Makers Emission Claims

Business strategies submitted to Congress, as part of a December bailout debate, by Ford and General Motors would, if achieved, make the companies compliant with California's proposed emission reforms -- the same changes the companies have opposed for years -- according to an analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group.