Hello and welcome to The Daily Read, our recommended reading for Friday. See something we missed? Post your suggestions in the comments below.

Financial Crisis » The White House encounters new resistance to its $700 billion bailout package from a bloc of renegade Republicans pushing for alternatives ... Democrats blame John McCain for disrupting bailout compromise efforts ... Ivory Tower economists object to the bailout as too vague, with critics falling in two camps ... meanwhile, another banking institution, Washington Mutual, bites the dust ... federal regulators say new Fannie and Freddie executive salaries are likely to top $1 million each ... and New York state is reportedly expanding its investigation into short-selling on Wall Street. — The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal

The Campaign Trail » Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is investigating a $100,000 state grant that then-state Sen. Barack Obama awarded in 2001 to a group headed by a onetime campaign volunteer ... meanwhile, Obama rolls out dubious campaign advertisements, even after criticizing his opponent for backing dishonest ads ... Gov. Sarah Palin's crackdown on gift-giving to Alaska officials hasn't prevented her from accepting $25,367 in gifts from industry executives and others. — Chicago Sun-Times, New York Times, Washington Post

Ted Stevens on Trial » As a lawyer for Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens (R) argues that his client "is honest" (read: it was his wife who handled their renovation finances), he also admits that Stevens only spends a handful of days living in the state that he has represented for 40 years. — Washington Post, Politico

NYPD Probes Taser Death » The New York Police Department is investigating two of its officers in the death of a disturbed Brooklyn man who toppled from a ledge after he was shot with a Taser stun gun. —New York Daily News

'Stolen Vote' Controversy » More than a year after the "stolen vote" controversy over the 2008 agriculture spending bill erupted in the House, a Congresional report concluded that the final result of Roll Call 814 was wrong. But the $450,000 investigation didn't establish the correct result. — Washington Post

SEIU's Family Payouts » As the Service Employees International Union weighs firing officers of its Los Angeles local, records reveal that the union's headquarters paid out millions to consulting firms, political nonprofits and individuals with family ties and other personal connections to some of the labor organization's top officers. — Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times