Obama unveiled the biggest public works program since the federal interstate system in the 1950s. Lawmakers have proposed spending between $400 million and $1 trillion on programs designed to green buildings, repair highways, renovate schools, expand high-speed Internet access in underserved areas, and giving hospitals electronic access to medical records. Obama has warned that with a sagging economy things are going to get worse before they get better. Yesterday he spoke to Tom Brokaw on “Meet the Press”—read the transcript.

Automakers could get a $15 billion by next week, but with strings. Lawmakers are preparing legislation that would create a seven-member board composed of Cabinet members and a Bush-appointed chair. The board would oversee the restructuring of the Big Three (GM, Ford, and Chrysler) and would hold them accountable for every transaction more than $25 million.

Congress will soon be welcoming its first Vietnamese-American. Nine-term Louisiana incumbent William Jefferson lost his seat to Republican Anh Cao (pronounced “Gow”) in a surprise upset. The election had been delayed because of Hurricane Gustav. Jefferson had been indicted for corruption charges, though the same happened to Cao last year and he’s still awaiting a date for his trial. One observer noted that New Orleans voters “don’t generally turn out candidates with ethics problems.”

The alleged 9/11 plotters have offered to confess, but the military judge won’t accept any guilty pleas until they’ve had time to go through formal proceedings. Some believe the move was a last-ditch effort by the Guantanamo detainees to challenge the current system by martyring themselves before the incoming President acts to shut down the military commissions altogether. The mother of one 9/11 victim approved of the court’s decision to proceed cautiously.

Now Kanye West’s cousin is under investigation in the death of the rapper’s mother. After undergoing a five-and-a-half hour cosmetic surgery last year, Donda West received home care from her nephew, Stephan Scoggins, a registered nurse. Scoggins apparently stayed with her overnight after the surgery but left the next day when she seemed to be doing well. He intended to return again the second night, but a friend found her without a pulse in the evening. If the California Board of Registered Nursing finds Scoggins negligent, he could lose his nurse’s license.

Barbra Streisand, Morgan Freeman, George Jones, Twyla Tharp, and the Who’s Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey received lifetime achievement awards in performance arts at the Kennedy Center over the weekend. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hosted a dinner on Saturday as part of the event, which CBS will broadcast on Dec. 30.

The unemployment rate has risen to 6.7 percent. The loss of 533,000 jobs this past November was the greatest one month decline of that nature the country has seen since December 1974.

Some may call it delayed justice, others a come-uppance, paying the piper, or what-have you. I don’t know what to call it, but O.J.’s going to prison for 16 years. He was sentenced in Vegas today, for the robbery and kidnapping of two sports memorabilia dealers based in the country’s glitzy sodom. Simpson tearfully apologized and pleaded for sympathy and a lax reaction. It may be difficult to watch for some and lovely for others, but either way, it’s here.

India has, to the devastated fury of its citizens, revealed that the scale to which the attacks on Mumbai affected its people, has a great deal to do with a lapse in India’s security response to the disaster.

U.S. Auto executives had another go at asking for a House approved $34 billion bail-out to prevent their companies from going bankrupt. The House Committee seems for now reluctant to dip so deeply into taxpayer money to rescue GM, Ford and Chrysler and the thousands of people employed there.

It seems two wannabe trannies and their suit-clad counterparts managed to bilk Harry Winston out of 85 million Euros worth of swag. Four men, two wearing wigs and dresses, paid the supremely chic Paris-based jewelry vendor a visit, touting guns, threats and a desire for gems.

Unlike President Bush whose approval ratings are dismal, President-elect Barack Obama has received high approval ratings for his transition to the White House. A recent USA Today/Gallop poll shows that 78% approve of his transition work. And Obama is picking up favor among Democrats, Republicans and Independents for his Secretary of State choice, Hillary Clinton (69% approval rate) and his decision to keep Robert Gates as the Secretary of Defense (a whopping 80% approval rate). Let’s see if these approvals maintain when they get in office.

And can you believe that a small county in Alabama created a Barack Obama holiday? Yes, it’s true. Alabama’s Perry County will observe the second Monday in November as “The Barack Obama Day.” The county’s offices will close and its 40 employees will have a paid holiday. According the article: “The sponsoring commissioner, Albert Turner Jr., said the holiday is meant to highlight the Democratic president-elect’s victory as a way to give people faith that difficult goals can be achieved.”

And more bad news for automakers… According to the Associated Press, General Motors’ sales dropped 41 percent in November and Ford’s sales also fell 31 percent last month. It appears that the U.S. automakers may need that bailout, after all. GM, Ford and Chrysler pleaded for more than $38 billion dollars of government assistance including loans Tuesday. The companies are now asking for more than the $25 billion they requested two weeks ago and state they don’t have a Plan B. An intervention of some sort is predicted based on House Speaker Pelosi recent remarks.

American car companies are not alone in their financial worries. Toyota and Honda also saw their sales plunge in November, 34 and 32 percent, respectively. With the economy in a recession and consumer confidence in the tank, it’s no wonder people aren’t buying cars—even with crazy low gas prices which hit a three-year low Tuesday.  And Chrysler’s CEO is warning that an automaker industry failure could send the country into the dreaded D-word: a depression.

One Bush leaving Capitol Hill and another one coming in? Possibly. Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and younger brother of Pres. Bush, is considering running for Republican Mel Martinez’ Senate Seat, according to an email exchange between Bush and Politico. Martinez said he will not seek reelection on Tuesday.