Senator Sanders

Bernanke Hold Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday placed a hold on Ben Bernanke's nomination for a second term as Federal Reserve chairman. "The American people want a new direction on Wall Street and at the Fed," Sanders said, according to The Burlington Free Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Times, The Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg, Politico, the London Telegraph and Financial Times. LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK, LINK and LINK

Wall Street Sen. Sanders is making headlines across the U.S. He has placed a hold on the nomination of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Today a Senate committee is expected to consider Bernanke's nomination to a second term. Sanders says the American people want a new direction on Wall Street, WPTZ and WCAX reported. VIDEO and VIDEO

Afghanistan "I think the president made a mistake. I`m disappointed at what he did, and I`ll tell you one of the reasons...This is a worldwide problem. Where is Europe? Where is Russia? Where is China? Where is the rest of the world?  With these 30,000 troops, we`re going to have 70 percent of the foreign troops in Afghanistan," Sanders told Ed Schultz on MSNBC. LeMonde also noted the reservations by le snateur indpendant. VIDEO

Energy Efficiency Sens. Patrick Leahy and Sanders and Rep. Peter Welch announced that Vermont's Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program will receive an additional $536,400 from the U.S. Department of Energy. Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the program provides rebates to consumers replacing used appliances with new Energy Star-certified appliance, Vermont Business Magazine reported. LINK

Single Payer Sen. Bernie Sanders plans to introduce a single-payer amendment that's expected to garner only a handful of votes, but he is more optimistic about a provision that would provide the necessary waivers for states to offer a single-payer system, Seven Days reported. Shay Totten noted that Sanders "is being derided by some single-payer advocates who want him to vote against the current Senate version of health care reform unless it creates a single-payer system."  LINK

International

Congress Poised to Back Obama War Plan President Obama appears to have secured what President George W. Bush couldn't: bipartisan support for an unpopular and faltering war. Despite expressing an uneasiness about the details, lawmakers are poised to back Obama's plan to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, The Associated Press reported. LINK

Afghanistan and Pakistan Rattled by Plan for Drawdown President Obama's timetable for American forces in Afghanistan rattled nerves in that country and in Pakistan on Wednesday, as American diplomats worked to convince the two countries at the center of the president's war strategy that the United States would not cut and run, according to The New York Times. LINK

National

Jobs Summit Under pressure from Republicans and an impatient public to fix the sputtering economic recovery, President Barack Obama is refocusing on this politically potent issue by talking job creation with business and labor leaders at the White House, AP reported. LINK

Senate Breaks Health Stalemate; First Votes Today At the end of a third day of Senate debate over sweeping health care legislation, Democrats and Republicans said Wednesday night that they had broken an impasse over the seemingly simple question of how and when to vote on the first amendments, The New York Times reported. LINK

Band of America to Repay Taxpayers Bank of America Corp. reached an agreement to repay $45 billion in federal bailout funds and escape pay restrictions and other curbs imposed by the U.S. government. Wednesday's announcement means the Charlotte, N.C., bank will be the first of seven companies to return their large, or "exceptional," taxpayer-funded lifelines, The Wall Street Journal reported. LINK

Comcast to buy NBC Comcast Corp. announced Thursday it plans to buy a majority stake in NBC Universal for $13.75 billion, giving the nation's largest cable TV operator control of the Peacock network, an array of cable channels and a major movie studio, AP reported. LINK

Financial Regulatory Package Heads to House A key congressional committee approved the final pieces of sweeping legislation Wednesday to overhaul the nation's financial regulatory system, setting the stage for a vote in the House of Representatives next week on one of President Obama's top priorities, according to The Washington Post. LINK

Black Caucus, White House Clash A clash between the Obama administration and the Congressional Black Caucus intensified Wednesday, illustrating how lawmakers' unease about the economy has the potential to derail White House priorities, The Wall Street Journal reported. LINK

Vermont

Salmon DUI Vermont state Auditor Tom Salmon says he will plead guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol after being cited for DUI on Nov 13 in Montpelier. Salmon is scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday in Vermont District Court, The Associated Press reported. LINK

Crew Blames Captain in Pirate Attack Richard Phillips, the ship captain toasted as a hero after he was taken captive by Somali pirates, ignored repeated warnings last spring to keep his freighter at least 600 miles off the African coast because of the heightened risk of attack, some members of his crew now allege," The Associated Press reported. LINK