• Suit takes on campaign donation limit
WASHINGTON -- The Louisiana and national Republican parties have given the maximum permitted by law to the congressional campaign of Anh "Joseph" Cao, the New Orleans Republican seeking to unseat U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, in the Dec. 6 general election.

• Vitter's bill would stop transfer of detainees
WASHINGTON -- In a challenge to President-elect Barack Obama, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., has proposed legislation that would bar the moving of "enemy combatants" from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the United States unless the president declares the move "consistent with the national security of the United States."

• Feds earmark disaster aid for La. fishing industry
WASHINGTON -- Louisiana has qualified for up to $40 million in federal disaster assistance for its fishing industry that state officials plan to use to restore oyster reefs, remove storm debris that hinders shrimpers and rebuild docks, icehouses and other infrastructure destroyed by recent hurricanes.

• Shreveport officials join pitch for auto industry aid
WASHINGTON -- Representatives of the Big Three U.S. automakers made their pleas for government aid Tuesday on Capitol Hill, cheered on by rallies at the Shreveport GM plant and outside the Senate office buildings where its fate likely will be decided.

• Carville the class clown to get serious at Tulane
James Carville, the colorful political mastermind whose strategy helped propel Bill Clinton into the White House, will join Tulane University's political science faculty in the spring to teach an undergraduate course on this year's presidential election.

• ON THE HILL
--- Kennedy's last-second surge? ---

• Vitter: Congress needs more bailout oversight
WASHINGTON -- Sen. David Vitter called the $700 billion Wall Street bailout a mistake when Congress passed it in early October, vesting tremendous power and discretion in the hands of U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

• Charges against Jefferson to stand
WASHINGTON -- Acting with unusual speed, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday rejected a request from Rep. William Jefferson's attorneys to throw out 14 of the 16 corruption charges in a federal indictment, setting the stage for a trial, probably in 2009.

• Inauguration-trip demand high
WASHINGTON -- Back in May, even before Barack Obama had won the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, Brenda Grimm Jackson of Jeanerette had secured a chartered bus and hotel for 55 people to attend his Jan. 20 inauguration.

• Jindal says he refused possible VP run
BATON ROUGE -- Gov. Bobby Jindal said Tuesday that he "politely declined" last summer an opportunity to be on John McCain's short list for the vice presidency.

• THE ROLE OF RACE
WASHINGTON

• What will Obama do about New Orleans recovery?
WASHINGTON -- During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama issued a policy paper pledging to "keep the broken promises made by President Bush to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast" and "ensure that the federal government will never again allow such catastrophic failures in emergency planning and response to occur."

• Landrieu voices support for Letten
If tradition holds sway, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten will start packing up his office sometime early next year, as Democratic politicians and supporters advocate their candidates for the position to the new administration.

• 2 La. lawmakers eager to offer Obama advice
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep.-elect Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, and re-elected Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, may provide early tests on whether President-elect Barack Obama will carry out his pledge to reach out for ideas from members of both political parties.

• Jefferson trial on hold to await appeal ruling
WASHINGTON -- Rep. William Jefferson's federal corruption trial remains on hold after U.S. District Court Judge T. S. Ellis III canceled a status conference that had been scheduled for today in his Alexandria, Va., courtroom.