Barack Obama, during the Democratic primaries, cited as influential to his thinking the book "Team Of Rivals," about Abraham Lincoln's opponent-stocked cabinet. It would appear this was more than mere campaign puffery: Obama's former presidential rival Hillary Clinton has accepted an offer to join the president-elect's cabinet as Secretary of State, according to a report in Britain's Guardian, carried on the front of Drudge Report. Rather than a thorny problem outside of the Obama administration, in the senate, Clinton will now be on the team, and focused on international problems where political disagreements with the president are less likely to erupt into public view. Of course her appointment could still go spectacularly wrong.
To find an example of an embarrassing breakdown between a president and his Secretary of State, one need go back no further than the current Bush Administration. Colin Powell was, by most accounts, slowly frozen out of key decisions after voicing early dissent over the Iraq war. His office became a source of leaks. And after leaving at the end of Bush's first term, Powell spoke publicly about his regrets.
Luckily for Obama, he's already gotten the "bitter public disagreement" phase of his relationship with Clinton out of the way! And his alliance with Clinton, combined with recent efforts to build bridges to former Republican presidential rival John McCain in the senate, could help him avoid the bruising Congressional battles of Bill Clinton's first year.
Vivian Schiller, the General Manager of NYTimes.com, is leaving the Times to become the president and CEO of NPR. National Public Radio, people! This is a huge announcement for lovers of the liberal media. Schiller has overseen lots of evolution at the paper's website—including the 
In the first election of the 21st century decided by the end of Election Day, Democratic Senator Barack Obama was elected President, beating Republican Senator John McCain. Obama, 47, is the United States of America's first black president. Despite his race, despite his being a liberal Midwestern Senator running with an east coast Democratic Senator, despite running against an incredibly well-respected and admired Republican with great independent voter appeal (at least back in the day), Obama took it decisively.
OK, who's sending all the white powder to New York newsrooms—and can you snort it? Reuters 
This is fun. Whenever the crazy culture wars heat up, someone starts mailing dangerous white powder to senators, newspapers, and banks. A New York Times human resources exec just sent an email around to the office staff warning of a suspicious white power found in an envelope addressed to the newspapers. The cops are there and the lobby is closed. Click through for the email.
The bailout bill? 
Thank god John McCain solved the financial crisis! Earlier today his campaign was 
Good thing John McCain raced back to Washington, suspending his campaign (except for media appearances by his paid surrogates and also all the ads he's still running) to fix the nation's financial crisis, because he's done it! By "he's done it" we mean Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd and House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank 
John McCain has asked that this Friday's 
Police have confirmed to Gawker that David Foster Wallace, novelist and essayist, was found dead of an apparent suicide in his home in Claremont, California, where he was a professor at Pomona College. 
Sarah Palin, a "hockey mom" who was once a mayor of a tiny town and has been the governor of a huge, empty state called "Alaska", will be the Vice President under 100-year-old President John McCain. She's cute tho! Also she is like the only not-corrupt Alaska politician ever, as far as we know.
The second ABC announced Brian Ross was on the case, you knew this was coming—John Edwards has admitted to having an affair with his former campaign staffer Rielle Hunter. The interview's on Nightline tonight. Edwards also claims he's not the father of Hunter's baby. And he didn't love her. So it's not cheating! Edwards claims his wife Elizabeth's cancer was in remission when he began the affair, so it's TOTALLY not cheating, at all. How did the story suddenly break on a Friday afternoon like this? Funny story.
Clark Rockefeller—the mystery man with no driver's license, social security number, or tax history, who 
DID THIS WOMAN KILL BRAVO'S JULIA ALLISON AND STEAL HER DOG Y/N?? [
At 2:42 E.T. there was an earthquake in LA. 
"Two payments to the Mayflower Hotel [
This is the single most important story of this terrible summer Friday. RUPERT MURDOCH LOST HIS WEDDING RING. Seriously! He got drunk (Australians!) at a lodge bar in Sun Valley (where this week's mogul summit is being held) last night, and after all the other moguls went back to their rooms, Murdoch hung around the lobby looking for his ring. "So began a frantic 15-minute scramble among reporters hungry to please the mogul," 
Yet another climber has ascended the front of the Times building, and this one brought a banner. It's not clear what it's supposed to say — the Times' City Room blog appears to 
Last week, 
More moves at the top at the Wall Street Journal. In two memos to the staff, editor Robert Thomson announces that Deputy Managing Editor Laurie Hays is leaving the paper. He then announces the creation of a "central news desk" helmed by three new Deputy Managing Editors: Matt Murray, Mike Williams, and Nikhil Deogun. In a face-saving move, 
Magazine groups are changing their management with all the abandon of the fractious Meade family in Ugly Betty. The latest casualty: dorky Victor Ganzi, who's stepping down as chief exec of Hearst with no successor lined up. (That's always a bad sign.) Magazine bosses must be feeling particularly insecure today. The rumors about Cosmopolitan publisher Hearst in the Wall Street Journal come the day 
Seriously, what's up with cranes collapsing in NYC? Are corners being cut left and right? Does capitalism and speed trump safety? Of course! A construction workers explains it all, noting that just because city inspectors have badges, doesn't mean they know anything about cranes.
At least two people were killed when a construction crane collapsed on Manhattan's Upper East Side shortly after 8 a.m. this morning. In this clip—with breaking shots of what can only be described as carnage from the scene—a reporter explains the crane's unfortunate configuration: it was actually hanging all the way over the street below, like a "gondola." Its collapse 
The 