Obama Sees Financial Rescue As Top Accomplishment Of First Year

Good morning.

As we said earlier, BlackBerry users may notice some gaps in their e-mails this morning. There was another service problem overnight. Many users, though, report things seem to be getting back to normal now.

Also, we posted earlier on the hard-landing of American Airlines Flight 331 last night in Jamaica. The jet, which began the day in Washington, D.C., and had a stopover in Miami, skidded off the runway during a rainstorm. More than 40 passengers were hurt.

As for other stories making headlines, they include:

— The Washington Post — "Obama Lists Financial Rescue As 'Most Important Thing' Of His First Year": "President Obama outlined Tuesday a first-year legislative record that he said rescued the economy and placed it on a path of long-term growth, even as he acknowledged that some unfinished items would probably be more difficult to achieve heading into a midterm election year. In an Oval Office interview with The Washington Post, Obama rejected criticism that he has compromised too much to secure health-care reform or turned over too much authority to congressional leaders in pursuing his broad legislative agenda."

Related news — NPR sit-down today: The president is doing a series of "end of year" interviews with news media outlets. He's scheduled to sit down with NPR this afternoon. We'll pass along highlights as soon as they're available.

— The Weather Channel — "Winter Storm Targets Central U.S.": "The winter storm that has been organizing in the West takes aim on the Central U.S. today. Rain, thunderstorms, severe weather, freezing rain, sleet, snow, and wind can be expected with the system as it heads eastward over the next several days. ... By tomorrow night, the threat of heavy rain will extend from southern Wisconsin to the Southeast, including the Ohio Valley. Snow will continue to fall in the Northern and Central Plains, and across much of Minnesota. A wintry mix is possible from central Iowa, through northern Wisconsin and across much of Michigan."

— The Associated Press — Pakistani Taliban Commander Says His Fighters Are Going To Afghanistan: Waliur Rehman, a top commander in the Pakistani Taliban, told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview Monday night that he has sent thousands of fighters to neighboring Afghanistan to battle U.S. forces.

Related story on Morning Edition — "Corruption Ignored, Deplored In Afghanistan". From Kabul, NPR's Jackie Northam reports that on the bribery and extortion that are routine in Afghanistan:

— The New York Times — "Plan To Move Guantanamo Detainees Faces New Delay": "Rebuffed this month by skeptical lawmakers when it sought finances to buy a prison in rural Illinois, the Obama administration is struggling to come up with the money to replace the Guantanamo Bay prison. As a result, officials now believe that they are unlikely to close the prison at Guant??namo Bay, Cuba, and transfer its population of terrorism suspects until 2011 at the earliest."

— Morning Edition — "On Health Bill, Reid Proves To Be The Ultimate Deal Maker": "Senate Democrats are poised to pass their massive health care bill early Thursday. It's a feat many doubted could be pulled off, given how divided they are on key issues. But in the end, all 60 members of the Democratic caucus closed ranks behind the bill. And the man getting the credit for bringing them on board is the leader of the Democrats' supermajority, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid." NPR's David Welna reports:

— The Wall Street Journal — "Signs Of Revival In Heartland": "Eight months after unemployment in Elkhart County, Ind., hit 18.9% and helped make this middle America spot a symbol of the economic meltdown, people are starting to go back to work. In November the unemployment rate in the county fell to 14.5%, the lowest since November 2008, when it was 13%. A big reason for the turnaround is the rebound in the recreational-vehicle industry, which is responsible for about a quarter of the county's annual economy."

Coming up later this morning — Two key economic indicators:

— The Census Bureau reports on November new home sales.

— The Bureau of Economic Analysis reports on November consumer spending and personal income.