Good morning and welcome to today's Daily Read....

Rep. Rangel's Tangled Web » Between 2004 and 2007, Rep. Charles Rangel steered nearly $80,000 in campaign cash to an Internet company run by his son - paying lavishly for a pair of political Web sites so poorly designed an expert estimated one should have cost no more than $100 to create. — Politico

Feds Tape Blagojevich » Federal investigators recently made covert tape recordings of Gov. Rod Blagojevich in the most dramatic step yet in their corruption investigation of him and his administration. — Chicago Tribune

Iraq Contractors Detained » About 1,000 Asian men who were hired by a Kuwaiti subcontractor to the U.S. military have been confined for as long as three months in windowless warehouses near the Baghdad airport without money or a place to work. — McClatchy

Interior Challenges Congressional Veto » In another regulatory action in the waning days of the Bush administration, the Interior Department has unveiled a new rule that challenges Congress's authority to prevent mining planned on public lands. — New York Times

State Gun Laws Linked to Violence Rates » States with lax gun laws had higher rates of handgun killings, fatal shootings of police officers, and sales of weapons that were used in crimes in other states, according to a study underwritten by a group of more than 300 U.S. mayors. — Washington Post

Airlines Drop Self-Reporting Program » American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Comair have dropped programs that encourage pilots to come forward and report their own mistakes without fear of being punished. — USA Today

EU Rules Against DNA Database » European judges say it is unlawful for British police to store swabs and fingerprints from suspects later cleared of wrongdoing, clearing the way for millions of DNA profiles to be purged from government databases. — Daily Mail

After the jump...

» Justice Reopens Probe of Siegelman Trial (TPM)
» Justice Dept.: Pentagon Must Comply With EPA Cleanup Orders (WaPo)
» Panel Urges More Screening of Brain Injury in Troops (NYT)
» Police Chief Among 4 Indicted in Boy's Death at Gun Show (NYT)
» Southern California Union Probes Top Official's Role in Ex-Boyfriend's Deal (LAT)
» Conductor: Light Was Green Before Deadly L.A. Crash (USA Today)
» O.J. Simpson Faces 6 Years to Life at Sentencing (AP)
» Paris Robbers Nab $108 Worth of Diamonds from Harry Winston (Bloomberg)

» Illinois State Workers Face Suspension for Accessing Obama's Address (ABC)
» Obama Stimulus: Campaign Hits $745 Million Haul (AP)
» In a Cold Garage, Minnesota's Senate Recount Drags On (WaPo)
» McCain Campaign Spent $110,000 on Palin's Stylists (NYT)
» Alaska's New Senator Sees Change at Work (NYT)