Senate Leaders Plan To Block Burris From Entering Senate Chamber
This could be fun: If Roland Burris shows up at the Senate on Tuesday to be sworn in, Senate leaders have a plan for Burris to be greeted by the doorman -- and possibly armed police officers -- who will tell him he is not allowed in. For his part, Burris says he wants to avoid a scene and have this business sorted out before he arrives.

Today In Minnesota: Absentee Ballot Sorting Scheduled To Finish
Today is the deadline for the Franken and Coleman campaigns, along with local election officials, to finish sorting through and approving absentee ballot envelopes that are found to have been wrongly rejected, and then send them on to the state for counting over the weekend. But any number of wrinkles could happen today -- for one thing, Coleman is suing at the state Supreme Court to restart the whole process and get some rejected ballots put in that he wants.

Obama's Vacation Over
Barack Obama and his family have finished their vacation in Hawaii, and arrived back in Chicago this morning. They are set to move to Washington this weekend, so that the children can start school on time after the Christmas vacation.

Obama To Meet With Congressional Leadership On Monday
Barack Obama will reportedly meet with Congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle on Monday, in order to discuss his economic stimulus plan. Also lined up for next week is a meeting with former presidents on Wednesday.

Biden Could Still Cast Votes In The Senate
CQ reports that Joe Biden could potentially still be casting important votes in the Senate as Congress gets to work on an economic stimulus package, due to his official resignation date not yet being determined. "If a critical vote comes up and Sen. Biden is needed, he will vote," said Biden spokeswoman Annie Tomasini.

Rahm Resigning Congress Today
Rahm Emanuel's resignation from Congress will take effect today, as he prepares to become Barack Obama's Chief of Staff. A special election will be called within a period established by state law, and whoever wins the Democratic primary will be nearly guaranteed to hold the seat.

Paterson: No Caretaker Senator
New York Gov. David Paterson says he will not appoint a caretaker to Hillary Clinton's Senate seat because this would deprive the state of two years to build up seniority. Paterson also had some tough words for people telling him who to appoint: "I am amazed by the willingness of my colleagues, who know this is a difficult decision, to comment on it so much. I'm not saying they shouldn't. I'm just amazed by it."

Republicans Fleeing Washington During Inauguration
Millions of people are expected to come to Washington for Barack Obama's inauguration, but Jonathan Martin reports that one group is actually leaving: Republican lobbyists and staffers, who have made various plans to get out of town. "I will be pondering the future of my party at a remote location, aided in the conversation by my friend Jack Daniels," said lobbyist Greg Crist.

Rahm Emanuel is set to officially resign from Congress this Friday, as he prepares to become Barack Obama's White House Chief of Staff.

Rahm was easily re-elected to a fourth term this past November, before he got the invitation from Barack Obama to join the White House. A crowded field of local Democrats has already popped up to run in the special election. Whoever wins the primary will be pretty much guaranteed to hold this safe Democratic seat.