Good morning, and welcome to the Daily Read for Monday. Feel free to comment and let us know if we missed anything.

Emanuel Talked to Blagojevich Aides» Barack Obama dispatched Rahm Emanuel days after the presidential election to contact aides of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to begin talking up Mr. Obama's preferred candidates. — Wall Street Journal

Giant Ponzi Scheme » The epicenter of what may be the largest Ponzi scheme in history was the 17th floor of the Lipstick Building, Bernie Madoff's sanctum, where federal prosecutors say Madoff perpetrated a fraud scheme whose losses Madoff himself estimates at $50 billion... meanwhile, new potential victims emerged from the alleged Ponzi scheme, with international banks, hedge funds and wealthy private investors among those sorting out what could be massive losses. — New York Times, Wall Street Journal

Spousal Ties to Lobbying Test Obama » Barack Obama's embrace of Tom Daschle and his presumed choice of Carol Browner for energy czar suggest that Obama will take a softer line on lobbying by the spouses of the officials in his administration, a potential loophole in his pledge of keeping special interests at a distance. — New York Times

Report Faults Iraq Reconstruction» Government investigators have described the U.S. reconstruction effort in Iraq as a failure that wasted billions. — Washington Post

Executive Pay Limits May Be Toothless » A last-minute change by the Bush administration to a provision in the $700 billion financial that limited executive pay could be a giant loophole, effectively repealing the only enforcement mechanism in the law dealing with lavish pay for top executives. — Washington Post

Police Make Arrest in Oregon Bombing » Two days after a bomb exploded at a bank in Woodburn, killing two police officers and critically injuring the police chief, the authorities said Sunday that they had made an arrest in the case. — New York Times

After the jump...

Best of the Rest

» IG's Report Highlights Financial Mismanagement at the Pentagon(WaPo)
» Terrorism Adviser to Met Is on Wanted List (Times)
» Questions of KGB Ties Raised With South Ossetian Activist (AP)
» Roads, Trains Can't Handle Inauguration Droves (WaPo)
» Scope of Obama's Secret Service Protection Proves Daunting (USAT)

Blago Bust
» Two Sides of a Troubled Governor, Sinking Deeper (NYT)
» Blagojevich and Union Have Longstanding Ties (WSJ)
» Ill. Lawmakers to Consider Impeachment (USAT)
» Even Before Arrest, Blagojevich Had Few Allies (USAT)
» The Real Story Behind the Rushed Blagojevich Bust (WSJ)