In a statement issued late Thursday evening, Verizon Wireless acknowledged that some of its employees accessed president-elect Barack Obama's cell phone records without authorization.

The statement read:

"This week we learned that a number of Verizon Wireless employees have, without authorization, accessed and viewed president-elect Barack Obama's personal cell phone account. All employees who have accessed the account -- whether authorized or not -- have been put on immediate leave, with pay."

Verizon also apologized for the security breach:

"We apologize to president-elect Obama and will work to keep the trust our customers place in us every day."

Verizon said that Obama's account had been inactive for months, and that no emails or other data was accessed as the phone was a simple flip-phone, not a smartphone.

With reports such as this emerging, it makes sense that Obama won't be permitted to use his BlackBerry in the White House - it's simply not secure enough.

Al Qaida has released a video criticizing President-elect Barack Obama which is aimed at demeaning him in the eyes of his supporters. Al Qaida's #2 man, Ayman al-Zawahri featured in the video and branded Obama a "house negro", a racial term for a black American who does the bidding of whites. Al-Zawahri's speech marked al Qaida's first reaction to Obama's election victory.

Obama has been welcomed by many in the Middle East who hope that he will end what they consider American aggression against Muslims and Arabs under George W. Bush. But al-Zawahri dug into American racial history to make a case to the region that although Obama is black, he will not be anymore sympathetic than white leaders to what he referred as "the oppressed" of the world.

Al-Zawahri stated that Obama was the "direct opposite of honorable black Americans" such as Malcolm-X, who is known my some in the Arab world and seen as a symbol of anti-imperialism. AHe also referred to Obama,as well as secretaries of state Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice, as "house negroes".

The video also featured footage of old Malcolm X speeches in which he explained the term, stating that black slaves working in their white masters' houses were more servile than those working in the fields. He used the term to criticize black leaders that he accused of as not standing up to whites and discrimination.

http://afterdowningstreet.org/stopthepurge
By David Swanson

Half the story has been told. On Tuesday the Washington Post reported that Bush is creating civil service positions for loyal appointees, in order to make it hard for Obama to get rid of them.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/17/AR2008111703537_pf.html

Bush has also, for some time now, been terminating large numbers of employees in the federal government, people known as whistleblowers, people suspected of disloyalty. Some of the higher profile cases are well known:
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/28817/nick_turse_casualties_of_the_bush_administration

Had the GOP won the presidental election, Sarah Palin would have made little over $200,000 per year as vice president. It seems, however, that not winning the election and the mere fact that she ran as John McCain's running mate was enough to net her an even better offer. The Times has reported that Palin has been offered $7 millions to pen a biography and 7-week memoir on the campaign trail. With figures like that, that comes to roughly $1 million per week that she spent campaigning, and writing a book is far less stressful than the job she would have had as VP.

When Palin was announced as McCain's running mate, she was relatively unknown to the non-Alaskan masses. The Times suggests that Palin is following in Obama's footsteps, whose book "The Audacity of Hope" is what they called his springboard to the presidency. By letting us know about herself through the book, allowing her intelligence to shine through, and gaining sympathy as a working mother, she might just be able to snag a ticket in the next presidential election.

It's also rumored that talk shows and numerous other opportunities have been offered to Palin, and that the book deal should be finalized by the end of the month.

The BlackBerry is one of President-elect Barack Obama's favorite gadgets, but according to a White House technology analyst, he won't be able to take it with him when he moves into the White House. The ban is in place because the government can't guarantee the full security of his communications, and may even extend into his use of e-mail. Insiders believe that this may be a difficult habit for the tech-savvy leader.

Throughout his campaign, the BlackBerry allowed Obama to be constantly updated and connected.

Georgetown University Professor and Presidential tech analyst Diana Owen said that the potential hacking of Obama's BlackBerry is a threat best dealt with by not using it at all. The Presidential Records Act also comes in to play, which states that any correspondence by the President or VP is owned by the public and subject to historical review.

Even though he'll be barred from using his BlackBerry, Obama aides say that he is determined to be the first President to use a laptop in the Oval Office.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Watch CBS Videos Online

A Federal Election Commission audit found that Rev. Al Sharpton raked in nearly $500,000 in illegal campaign contributions during his 2004 run for the presidency. The focus of the audit was Sharpton's use of his American Express card to pay for campaign activity, and the apparent use of money from his nonprofit National Action Network to underwrite various political expenses.

According to the FEC audit, Sharpton now owes the US Treasury nearly $487,000 in what they have called "prohibited" contributions and $10,500 collected donations above the legal limits. Furthermore, the FEC says that Sharpton's campaign "materially misstated" its financial activity, including not figuring in the $100,000 he received in federal campaign matching funds. They said that he did not qualify for matching funds because he did not abide by campaign rules.

Sharpton said he plans to appeal the FEC ruling, and said Friday that he was entitled to continue his work as a preacher and president of the National Action Network while campaigning:

Barack Obama's campaign embraced technology and the internet, mobilizing the masses in a way that hasn't been typical of modern political campaigns, and it's clear that he full intends to carry that through beyond his election as the next president of the United States. Today Obama delivered what is being billed by YouTube and Change.gov as "Your Weekly Address From the President-Elect". The video went live at 6:00 AM this morning, and the radio version of the address airs later in the morning.

An Obama spokesperson said that this weekly online address is merely the beginning of the digital, transparent presidency of Obama. Through videos such as this, it will allow Obama's supporters and American citizens to feel connected to the White House and government.