What You Need to Know: 01.08.09

Obama Warns of Dire Consequences Without Stimulus
"President-elect Barack Obama today warned of double digit unemployment and a "generation" of lost earnings if his upcoming economic stimulus plan is not enacted quickly by Congress. In a speech today at George Mason University in Fairfax, Obama warned that failure to pass the plan -- expected to cost as much as $800 billion -- means that "a bad situation could become dramatically worse.""

Cheney: Obama should keep terror policies
"Vice President Dick Cheney said Wednesday it would be a mistake for President-elect Barack Obama to scrap the Bush administration's terrorist-fighting policies designed to prevent future attacks on the U.S."

Colorado political leaders make American history
"In Washington, all eyes are on President-elect Barack Obama, but 1,700 miles away, in Colorado, another historic swearing-in has taken place.

For the first time in American history, African-Americans lead both chambers of a state legislature."

Congress meets to count electoral votes
"The House and Senate are coming together in a centuries-old tradition to count the electoral votes from the November election and formally declare that Barack Obama will be the 44th president of the United States."