From The Progressive: Today, more than 23,000 representatives of private industry are working quietly with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. The members of this rapidly growing group, called InfraGard, receive secret warnings of terrorist threats before the public does—and, at least on one occasion, before elected officials. . . . But there may be more to it than that. One business executive, who showed me his InfraGard card, told me they have permission to “shoot to kill” in the event of martial law. According to an anonymous member of the organization, “Then they said when—not if—martial law is declared, it was our responsibility to protect our portion of the infrastructure, and if we had to use deadly force to protect it, we couldn’t be prosecuted.” Remind anyone of the Nightwatch?

From the Associated Press: The Senate has voted to shield from lawsuits telecommunications companies that helped the government eavesdrop on their customers without court permission after the September 11 terrorist attacks. After nearly two months of stops and starts, the Senate rejected by a vote of 31 to 67 an amendment that would have stripped a grant of retroactive immunity to the companies. President Bush has promised to veto any new surveillance bill that does not protect the companies that helped the government in its warrantless wiretapping program. About 40 lawsuits have been filed against telecom companies by people alleging violations of wiretapping and privacy laws. Telecom immunity must still be approved by the House. Its version of the surveillance bill does not provide immunity.

From the Guardian: A heckling radio ham known as the Filipino Monkey, who has spent years pestering ships in the Persian Gulf, is being blamed today for sparking a major diplomatic row after American warships almost attacked Iranian patrol boats. The US navy came within seconds of firing at the Iranian speedboats in the Strait of Hormuz on January 6 after hearing threats that the boats were attacking and were about to explode. Senior navy officials have admitted that the source of the threats, picked up in international waters, was a mystery. And now the US navy’s journal, Navy Times, has claimed that the threats, which were broadcast last week by the Pentagon, are thought to have come from an infamous radio prankster. It said the Filipino Monkey, who could be more than one person, listens to ship-to-ship radio traffic and then interrupts, usually with abusive insults. Rick Hoffman, a retired captain, told the paper: “For 25 years, there’s been this mythical guy out there who, hour after hour, shouts obscenities and threats. He used to go all night long. The guy is crazy.

From the New York Times: The Countrywide Financial Corporation fabricated documents related to the bankruptcy case of a Pennsylvania homeowner, court records show, raising new questions about the business practices of the giant mortgage lender at the center of the subprime mess. The documents — three letters from Countrywide addressed to the homeowner — claimed that the borrower owed the company $4,700 because of discrepancies in escrow deductions. Countrywide’s local counsel described the letters to the court as “recreated,” raising concern from the federal bankruptcy judge overseeing the case, Thomas P. Agresti. Just how “recreated” are these documents? The letters all claim to be sent to the borrower’s current address, rather than the address he lived in at the time the letters were date-stamped. Ooops!

From the Wall Street Journal: Judging by the pre-vote polls and prediction markets, the Democratic primary in New Hampshire created one of the most surprising upsets in U.S. political history. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama was favored in the final pre-election poll of all 12 pollsters who surveyed voters since his surprise victory in Iowa, and was the unanimous favorite among television pundits. The only real question to be resolved appeared to be the size of Mr. Obama’s majority. His loss to New York Sen. Hillary Clinton was equally embarrassing for prediction markets, such as the WSJ Political Market. Election-eve trading had suggested that Sen. Obama had a 92% chance to win in New Hampshire, while Sen. Clinton rated only a 7% chance. Against this background, it is no exaggeration to term the result truly historic. The horserace continues!

From the Associated Press: Two Baylor College of Medicine researchers in Houston are working on a cocaine vaccine they hope will become the first-ever medication to treat people hooked on the drug. “For people who have a desire to stop using, the vaccine should be very useful,” said Dr. Tom Kosten, a psychiatry professor who is being assisted in the research by his wife, Therese, a psychologist and neuroscientist. “At some point, most users will give in to temptation and relapse, but those for whom the vaccine is effective won’t get high and will lose interest.” The vaccine, currently in clinical trials, stimulates the immune system to attack the real thing when it’s taken. The immune system — unable to recognize cocaine and other drug molecules because they are so small — can’t make antibodies to attack them. To help the immune system distinguish the drug, Kosten attached inactivated cocaine to the outside of inactivated cholera proteins. Get your kids vaccinated too!

From the Washington Post: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson yesterday denied California’s petition to limit greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks, overruling the unanimous recommendation of the agency’s legal and technical staffs. According to California’s Attorney General: Governor Schwarzenegger and I are preparing to sue at the earliest possible moment. Interestingly, the EPA’s lawyers expect to lose. EPA’s lawyers and policy staff had reached the same conclusion, said several agency officials familiar with the process. In a PowerPoint presentation prepared for the administrator, aides wrote that if Johnson denied the waiver and California sued, “EPA likely to lose suit.”

From the Associated Press: The quest for thicker lashes and defined eyes should get safer on Jan. 1, when Minnesota bans mercury from mascara, eye liners and skin-lightening creams. The state apparently is the first in the nation to ban intentionally-added mercury in cosmetics. When the law takes effect, Minnesota will have a tougher standard than the federal government, which allows small amounts of mercury as a preservative in eye makeup. Retailers who knowingly sell mercury-containing cosmetics could face fines of as much as $700. Penalties could reach $10,000 for manufacturers who fail to disclose mercury on product labels, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Is anyone else reminded of the Prairie Home Companion’s Old Folks at Home Cottage Cheese?

From the New York Times: Defying a veto threat from President Bush, the House of Representatives voted Thursday to prohibit waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods used by the Central Intelligence Agency against high-level prisoners from Al Qaeda. The 222-to-199 vote, largely along party lines, sends the legislation to the Senate, where passage is less certain. The measure, part of the intelligence authorization bill, would restrict all American interrogators to techniques included in the Army Field Manual, which prohibits the use of physical force. Surely this is a huge abuse of power, radically reducing the security of the country, right? Well, maybe not. In a letter to the House and Senate, thirty retired admirals and generals urged Senators and Representatives “to defy President Bush’s veto threats and pass legislation requiring U.S intelligence agents to follow strict standards for detainee treatment.” But really, unless sixty senators to agree that the Army Field Manual is the correct standard of conduct, what’s the point?

From the New York Times: The New Jersey General Assembly approved a bill eliminating capital punishment on Thursday, clearing the way for Gov. Jon S. Corzine to sign the measure as early as Monday. Mr. Corzine said he would act quickly. “It will be very, very prompt,” he said at a news conference on Thursday. “I’m sure it will be within the next week.” Once he signs the bill, New Jersey will become the first state in the modern era of capital punishment to repeal the death penalty. Don’t worry, this one isn’t without controversy. The measure has moved at an unusually fast pace through the Legislature. In the last week, it passed a Senate committee, an Assembly committee and both houses, leading many Republicans to accuse the Democratic leadership of trying to rush the bill through a lame-duck session. “I am ashamed the Assembly would consider this bill today,” said Assemblyman Richard A. Merkt, a conservative Republican from Randolph.