Blagojevich: The Tapes Show Me Fighting For Illinois
On Friday, Rod Blagojevich defended himself from the idea that his wiretapped conversations show him engaged in anything improper. "Even in this process, without saying too much, that was all about trying to end up with the right decision that could do the most things for the people of Illinois, and when the full truth is told, you will see precisely that," said Blagojevich. "If somehow that's impeachable, then I'm on the wrong planet and I'm living in the wrong place."

Obama's Vacation Hit By Blackout
The Hawaiian island of Oahu, the site of the Obama family's vacation, was hit by a massive blackout that affected its roughly 900,000 residents. Power is coming back around the island, but the neighborhood hosting Obama is unlikely to come back online until later today.

Obama Slips Away From Press Pool
Barack Obama managed to get away from the traveling press pool that has been tracking his every move during his Hawaiian vacation, taking his daughters and other family and friends to Sea Life Park. His escape wasn't complete though -- CNN says they saw the amusement park outing.

Caroline: If I'm Not Appointed, I Won't Run In 2010
In an interview with NY1, Caroline Kennedy said that if she is not appointed to Hillary Clinton's Senate seat by Gov. David Paterson, then she won't run in the 2010 special election. Instead, she will support whoever Paterson ends up appointing.

Obama Aide: No Pre-Inaugural Visit To Iraq
The Obama transition team has quashed speculation that Obama might visit Iraq before he takes office. A transition spokesman said definitively that there are no plans to go to Iraq before January 20.

Ohio Asks For Billions In Stimulus
With Barack Obama promoting a stimulus plan estimated at $800 billion, states and localities are lining up asking for help in meeting their own budgetary needs -- and the big industrial state of Ohio is certainly no exception. The Washington Post reports that Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland left this amusing voicemail with Rahm Emanuel, his former Congressional colleague: "Rahm, it's Ted. You've never failed me and I need $5 billion."

Washington Doesn't Invite New York Police To Help With Inauguration
The New York Times reports that New York police were never asked to help patrol the inauguration of Barack Obama, even though thousands police of police are coming from around the country. A spokeswoman for the D.C. Metropolitan Police said they assumed New York wasn't interested because they didn't want to participate back in 2005 -- while an NYPD spokesman says they weren't asked in 2005, either.