The latest news on Obama Elected President, Unemployment, Gaza-Ceasefire, Gaza-Humanitarian Crisis, Economic Stimulus, Home Loans, Labor, War Resister Ordered Out, Nuclear Weapons, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Passing, and Select Op-eds.

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Obama elected president. Congress makes it official for Obama "It may seem as if Barack Obama has been president-elect for months. But it was only on Thursday that he officially gained that status, as Congress met in a joint session to tally and certify the vote of the electoral college." Obama certified as president-elect "It's official. Barack Obama won the election. The president-elect, technically, was not the president-elect until Thursday afternoon, when a joint session of Congress formally certified the Electoral College votes from each state and the District of Columbia."

Unemployment. Jobless rate jumps to 7.2 percent in December "The nation's unemployment rate bolted to 7.2 percent in December, the highest level in 16 years, as nervous employers slashed 524,000 jobs." New jobs numbers portray an economy in near free fall "December's unemployment rate was the highest since January 1993, and was up by much more than expected over November's rate of 6.7 percent, according to the Labor Department. The December job losses brought the full-year total to more than 2.6 million."

Gaza-ceasefire. U.N. ceasefire call goes unheeded "Israel is to keep up its offensive in the Gaza Strip despite a U.N. call for an immediate end to nearly two weeks of conflict involving Hamas militants." Cabinet rejects U.N. truce resolution, widens Gaza ground op "The diplomatic-security cabinet rejected on Friday a United Nations Security Council cease-fire resolution and ordered the Israel Defense Forces to expand its current ground operation against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip." Hamas: U.N. Gaza truce resolution 'does not meet our demands' "Hamas on Friday rebuffed a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip as Israel's offensive against the Islamist organization enters its third week." U.S. abstains as U.N. security council backs Israel-Gaza ceasefire resolution "The U.N. last night passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the 13-day conflict in Gaza, breaking a deadlock in the international community's response to the crisis that risked exposing the U.N. to ridicule."

Gaza-humanitarian crisis. U.N. and Red Cross Add to Outcry on Gaza War "International aid groups lashed out at Israel on Thursday over the war in Gaza, saying that access to civilians in need is poor, relief workers are being hurt and killed, and Israel is woefully neglecting its obligations to Palestinians who are trapped, some among rotting corpses in a nightmarish landscape of deprivation." U.N. aid agency suspends work after Gaza strike "The main U.N. aid agency in the Gaza Strip said that it was suspending operations after an Israeli tank shell hit one of its convoys during the ceasefire period, killing two drivers." 100 Survivors Rescued in Gaza From Ruins Blocked by Israelis "Emergency workers said they rescued 100 more trapped survivors Thursday and found between 40 and 50 corpses in a devastated residential block south of Gaza City that the Israeli military had kept off-limits to the International Committee of the Red Cross for four days."

Economic stimulus. Obama Cites Grim Economy at Start, as Predecessors Have "President-elect Barack Obama warned yesterday that the nation is sliding into the deepest economic crisis since World War II and urged Congress to pass a stimulus package quickly or risk an entire generation of Americans losing any hope of prosperity." Obama puts his trust in government "In his 17-minute talk, Obama previewed what he wants his presidency to be. Rejecting decades of rhetoric casting government as an impediment, he vowed to do more than pull the nation out of its economic downturn." Barack Obama reveals massive economic rescue package "President-elect Barack Obama today laid out the broad lines of a massive $775 billion economic stimulus plan to drag American out of recession." Here is the text of President-elect Barack Obama's speech on the economy at George Mason University.

Home loans. Citi Reaches Deal With Lawmakers on Home Loans "In a move that would help troubled homeowners, Citigroup agreed to support legislation that would let bankruptcy judges adjust mortgages for at-risk borrowers, leading Congressional Democrats said on Thursday."

Labor. Hilda Solis' belief in unions runs deep "Rep. Hilda Solis, the daughter of immigrants who lives in a modest home in El Monte not far from where she was raised, takes her first step to almost certain confirmation as U.S. secretary of Labor today at a Senate hearing. In eight years as a lawmaker in Sacramento and eight years in Congress, Solis has been an advocate for low-wage workers, particularly immigrants, and for organized labor." Bill Easing Unionizing Is Under Heavy Attack "Intent on blocking organized labor's top legislative goal, corporations are quietly contributing to lobbying groups with appealing names like the Workforce Fairness Institute and the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace." Democrats focus on workplace bias "The first bill that lands on Barack Obama's desk after he becomes president could provide him with an opportunity to make an immediate mark on civil rights."

War resister ordered out. War resister ordered out "Rivera, the first female U.S. Iraq war resister to seek refuge in Canada, was told by the Immigration and Refugee Board yesterday morning that she and her family must leave the country by Jan. 27 or face deportation."

Nuclear weapons. Pentagon drifting from nuclear deterrence, report says "After firing the two top Air Force leaders last year for a series of embarrassing nuclear weapons mishaps, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates was told Thursday that the same problems of inexperience, poor training and splintered authority over nuclear arms affect the entire Pentagon, including its top leadership." Panel Urges Keeping U.S. Nuclear Arms In Europe "The United States should keep tactical nuclear bombs in Europe and even consider modernizing older warheads on cruise missiles to maintain credibility with allies who depend on the U.S. weapons for security, according to a report released yesterday by a high-level task force appointed by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates."

Afghanistan. U.S. soldiers killed in Afghan attack "Two U.S. soldiers and three civilians have been killed by a suicide bomber in southern Afghanistan." Major Push Is Needed to Save Afghanistan, General Says "The top American commander responsible for Afghanistan, Gen. David H. Petraeus, said Thursday that the country would require a 'sustained, substantial' commitment from the United States and other nations to stop a downward spiral of violence and a resurgence of the Taliban and Al Qaeda." Petraeus: Iran may one day be partner in Afghanistan; predicts long war, says 'nothing easy' "U.S. policy to win in Afghanistan must recognize the poor nation's limitations and its neighborhood, especially its intertwined relationship with U.S. terrorism-fighting ally Pakistan, the top U.S. military commander in the region said Thursday."

Zimbabwe. 'It Feels Like We Are Under Siege' "As defense lawyers have futilely petitioned courts for their release, the jailed activists have become the latest symbols of the demise of what seemed to be a breakthrough power-sharing deal and, critics say, of Mugabe's resolve to keep control of the crumbling nation using the repressive tactics that characterize his government."

Passing. Rev. R. J. Neuhaus, Political Theologian, Dies at 72 "The Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, a theologian who transformed himself from a liberal Lutheran leader of the civil rights and antiwar struggles in the 1960s to a Roman Catholic beacon of the neoconservative movement of today, died on Thursday in Manhattan. He was 72 and lived in Manhattan."

Opinion. Obama's Big-Tent Stimulus (E.J. Dionne Jr., The Washington Post) "It has been so long since Congress needed to pass a huge and urgent package of spending increases and tax cuts that few people understand how the politics of such a thing might work." The Chief Justice on the Spot (Linda Greenhouse, The New York Times) "The question is whether Congress acted within its constitutional authority two years ago when it extended a central provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 for 25 years. An appeal challenging the act's reauthorized Section 5, a provision that requires certain states and localities to receive federal permission before making any change in election procedures, awaits the justices when they return today from a holiday recess."