Cheat Sheet - Can a Kennedy Rescue the Dems?

Today: Unemployment Rate Falls to 8.5 Percent, Santorum Has Lucrative Ties, Explosions Kill 25 In Syria January 06, 2012 DYNASTY 1. Can Joe Kennedy III's Run for Congress Repaint Massachusetts Blue? Joseph P. Kennedy III, Bobby's grandson, has announced he intends to run for Congress this year, at last raising the prospect of a Kennedy on Capitol Hill. Michelle Cottle on whether the rebirth of Massachusetts as a Democratic redoubt will save the party in 2012. Read it at The Daily Beast GOOD NEWS 2. Unemployment Rate Falls to 8.5 Percent The newest U.S. monthly employment data show the creation of 200,000 nonfarm jobs in December, better than the expected 155,000 forecast by analysts and more encouraging compared to 120,000 in November, signaling that the market is picking up. The unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent—the lowest in nearly three years—from 8.6 in November. It's a big boost for President Obama's reelection campaign, although at the polls he will probably still have the highest unemployment rate of any sitting president since World War II. Historical data show that reelection prospects hinge less on the jobless rate itself than on the direction during the year or two before Election Day. Read it at Wall Street Journal QUID PRO QUO 3. Santorum Has Lucrative Ties Rick Santorum lost his Senate seat in 2006, but before that, he sponsored at least two bills that won hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicare funding for Universal Health Services, a Pennsylvania-based hospital-management company with facilities in Puerto Rico. Within months of leaving the Senate, Santorum joined the company's board, collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees and stock options before resigning last year. That's just one of many businesses that had lucrative ties to Santorum, who built a career in the private sector with income from companies that returned the favor for his work in Congress, and his strong showing in Iowa is upping the scrutiny over his history. Read it at The New York Times DEADLY 4. Explosions Kill 25 In Syria A suicide bomber targeted a police bus in central Damascus Friday, killing an estimated 25 people and wounding another 46, most of them civilians. The blasts comes two weeks after twin blasts killed 44 people in the Syrian capital, which the authorities blamed on terrorists targeting security buildings—a claim that the Syrian opposition denied, saying that the government staged the bombings. Read it at Associated Press PLOT 5. Ex-Turkish General Arrested Over Coup A former Turkish military chief was jailed Friday for allegations of leading a terror organization and attempting to stage a coup against the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2009. Gen. Ilker Basbug, who retired in 2010, was the leader of the military at the time, and becomes the most senior officer to face trial in the alleged coup. Prosecutors say the military funded dozens of websites that discredited the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Erdogan. The military has staged three coups in the country and forced an Islamist prime minister to quit in 1997. Read it at The National Turk CAPITAL PUNISHMENT Oklahoma Has First Execution Gary Rolan Welch put to death for murder. 2 OR 22? Counter: Mitt Had 20 Incorrect Votes Typo may have cost Santorum the race. IN MEMORIAM Eve Arnold Dies at 99 See her most iconic images. VOLCANO Italy's Mount Etna Erupts Hasn't disrupted air travel. INKED Justin Bieber Gets Jesus Tattoo On back of calf. GET The Cheat Sheet A speedy, smart summary of news and must-reads from across the Web. You'll love the featured original stories on politics, entertainment, and more from The Daily Beast's diverse group of contributors. GET The Yes List Weekly cultural recommendations from The Daily Beast. New Hampshire Reception Reflects Electability Concerns on Rick Santorum by Lois Romano Gun Control Advocates Say Lax Utah Permit Rules Lurk Within Senate Bill by Josh Dzieza Condom Initiative by Anti-AIDS Group Threatens Porn Industry by Lizzie Crocker

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