AP - Two of the top qualities Robert Gibbs brings to the job of White House press secretary aren't found on his resume: He won't flinch at telling it like it is to the next president or telling it like he thinks it ought to be to the media.

AP - Thirty-two men and women from across the United States have been selected as Rhodes Scholars for 2009, the scholarship trust announced Sunday.

AP - With the economy in free fall, President-elect Barack Obama is stepping up efforts to let Americans know what he has planned to stabilize the nation's financial system and calm the markets.

Politico - Appearing on CBS’s “60 Minutes” last Sunday, Barack Obama reiterated a campaign trail promise.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama's top adviser has a warning for U.S. automakers: Without a plan to retool and restructure, there is very little taxpayers can do to help.

AP - Taxpayers have shelled out at least $200 million since 2004 for medications that have never been reviewed by the government for safety and effectiveness but are still covered under Medicaid, an Associated Press analysis of federal data has found. Millions of private patients are taking such drugs, as well.

AP - When the Bush presidency ends, opponents of embryonic stem cell research will face a new political reality that many feel powerless to stop.

AP - When Chrysler teetered on the brink of bankruptcy in 1979, the automaker spent months building support for a $1.5 billion loan guarantee that helped save the company and tens of thousands of jobs.

Politico - President-elect Obama views his choice for Treasury secretary, New York Federal Reserve President Tim Geithner, as a reformer with experience in international crisis, a top aide said Sunday.

AP - The architect of France's 35-hour work week won a combative race to lead the French Socialist Party by a razor-thin margin, prompting President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservatives to gloat that the leading opposition party is far from united.

AP - President George W. Bush enlisted another bloc of world leaders Sunday in his effort to revive the world economy while still moving to expand free trade.

Politico - Obama adviser Bill Daley says Obama will 'more likely than not' postpone a tax increase for the rich until 2011, when the Bush tax cuts expire, rather than pushing to repeal them now.

AP - The mighty were brought low as the first-place teams in both the open and women's divisions fell in round nine on Saturday. In the open division, Israel played the role of David, knocking off Armenia 2.5-1.5. On the women's side, Serbia edged China 2.5-1.5.

AP - Leading Democrats expect U.S. automakers will show Congress next month they are worth rescuing and are capable of returning to global pre-eminence. Skeptical Republicans said Sunday that Detroit's Big Three needed to convince taxpayers that they deserve an emergency $25 billion lifeline.

Politico - A potential auto bailout, the faltering economy, and the emerging Obama administration cabinet dominated the Sunday talk show chatter this week.

AP - President Hugo Chavez sought to hold on to his dominance in state and municipal elections Sunday, facing an opposition aiming to win back power in key states and cities.

Reuters - Germany declined to comment on Saturday on reports that three Germans arrested on suspicion of throwing explosives at an EU office in Kosovo were intelligence officers.

AP - For years, Hillary Rodham Clinton set aside her own considerable ambition to promote her husband's political career.

AP - More than three-fourths of young women, those ages 18-29 and known as Generation Y, want incoming President Barack Obama to make civil rights and racial justice top priorities of his administration, a survey says.

Politico - President-elect Barack Obama is putting together an economic team that gets rave reviews on Wall Street and will likely get an easy ride through the Senate.

Politico - The hiring of Ellen Moran as White House communications director makes sense for some reasons: She's thought of as a capable, experienced hand, and she's known and worked with top Obama aides for nearly two decades.

Politico - In his column last Sunday for the San Francisco Chronicle, former Mayor Willie Brown had a piece of advice for blue-state Democrats looking to score presidential Inauguration tickets: Call a Republican.