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Chuck and Jeanne Lane of Ohio have excellent credit, but their monthly credit card bill more than doubled.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – If you hold a Discover credit card, you're in luck - the company has decided to freeze interest-rate hikes until a new credit card consumer protection bill takes effect in February.

Bank of America was the first company to freeze its rates. Both moves come after outrage over credit card companies jacking up rates, increasing minimum payments and raising penalty fees before the new consumer protection law - which would bar sudden increases - is phased in.

Rep. Betsy Markey, D-Colorado, and 17 other lawmakers sent letters to credit card banks asking them voluntarily to freeze their rates while Congress decides whether to move up the phase-in date for the new law to December.

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Congress is considering a new agency designed to give consumers more financial protection.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - If you hold a credit card, mortgage or a student loan, Congress is considering a new agency designed to give you a lot more protection. Called the Consumer Financial Products Agency, it would set new rules to simplify contracts, eliminate fine print, and get rid of the tricks and traps that led so many people to unwittingly sign up for mortgages they couldn't afford.

Guess who is fighting it? The financial services industry. According to one of the industry's top lobbyists, stopping the agency is "our number one priority." That's no small thing given the industry that spent $373 million on lobbying last year alone, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. He insists any changes in the industry would have devastating effects on the economy. He worries the agency "basically has no restrictions on what they can do in the area of consumer protection" and warns this could freeze up the credit market: "If credit goes up and costs more, some people that are eligible for credit today will not be eligible in the future."

"This is the biggest financial fight I have seen in the 20 years I've been in Washington," says Ed Mierzwinksi, with of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG), a consumer advocacy organization. Consumer groups are outraged by the industry's opposition. "The people who are gearing up to kill the agency are the companies whose irresponsible practices and abuses led to the collapse of the world economy," says Mierzwinski. PIRG is one of approximately 200 groups which have formed a coalition called Americans for Financial Reform, which will be pushing Congress to approve the new consumer agency.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) - It was the role of a lifetime for comedian-turned-inquisitor Sen. Al Franken this week during Judge Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination hearings.

The Senate's newest star seemed comfortable in front of the cameras, but less at ease with Senate procedure.

In one instance, Franken looked to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, to approve a request.

"I would ask for it to be entered into the record ... can I enter it into the record?" Franken asked. He was given the green light to go ahead.

Franken's national debut is also amusing his old peers on the comedy circuit.

"I just kept expecting 'Live from New York!'" said Jon Stewart on "The Daily Show" this week.

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(CNN) – An Obama transition official says reports that the president-elect will release a stimulus plan with a trillion-dollar price tag are overblown, and that the actual figure being discussed is far smaller.

Some outside economists have pushed the trillion-dollar figure. One recent report suggested the transition team was working with an $850 billion plan. But this official describes the amount Obama advisors are currently considering as significantly lower than both.

Obama and his economic team met for four hours yesterday. They are still working on the package, which will not be announced before the president-elect returns from Hawaii later this month.

Rahm Emanuel will be Obama's White House chief of staff.

CHICAGO (CNN) - A source who has been briefed on the investigation says Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama's chief of staff, has been notified he is not a target of the probe into Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Barack Obama gives Joe Biden cupcakes the day before the Vice President-elect’s 66th birthday.

CHICAGO (CNN) – The day before Vice President-elect Joe Biden turns 66, President-elect Barack Obama presented his running mate with 12 candlelit cupcakes after their weekly lunch on Wednesday. He also gave Biden Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bears hats as well as a bucket of Garrett's popcorn as presents.

“You’re 12 years old!” Obama told Biden according to a Democratic source.

“Maybe in dog years!” Biden responded, laughing.

Obama and the staff then sang Biden ‘Happy Birthday.’

Rarely did Biden make a stop on the campaign trail and not mention his age. “I want you to know,” he would tell supporters, “there are only four members of the Senate who are senior to me. But the very important thing to know is there are still 39 older than me.”

Fmr. Pres. Bill Clinton has agreed to several concessions in Hillary Clinton’s vetting for Secretary of State.

(CNN) –- A major obstacle in Hillary Clinton’s path to becoming President-elect Barack Obama’s secretary of state may be out of the way, as former President Bill Clinton has made several concessions to help move his wife’s vetting process along.

A source familiar with the discussions between Sen. Clinton and the president-elect confirms to CNN that the former president will release the names of several major donors to the Clinton Foundation as well as submitting future foundation activities and paid speeches to a strict ethics review.

In addition, the former president is offering to step down from his day-to-day responsibilities at the foundation and inform the State Department of his speaking schedule and any new sources of income.

President Clinton’s international and financial dealings with his foundation and presidential library have been a sticking point with an Obama camp worried that Sen. Clinton’s position in the cabinet could create a potential conflict of interest as the country’s top diplomat.

First lady Laura Bush visits with Michelle Obama on Monday during the Obamas' visit to the White House.

(CNN)—While President-elect Barack Obama met with President Bush Monday, Mrs. Obama met with head White House Usher Adm. Stephen W. Rochon to discuss how she wants things to operate when they move in in January.

Sources say they discussed everything from how to request meals, what they like to eat, and how formal a presence she wants the White House Staff to have.

An aide says the Obamas are pretty informal, but would not divulge specific requests at the time.

Emanuel, left will be Obama's chief of staff.

(CNN) - Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel, a former Clinton administration aide, has accepted the position of President-elect Obama's chief of staff, a Democratic aide tells CNN.

Watch: Jessica Yellin reports on Emanuel

House Minority Leader John Boehner criticized the choice of Emanuel - the man known for his tough-minded approach and widely credited with engineering large congressional gains for Democrats in the 2006 elections.

“This is an ironic choice for a President-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil, and govern from the center," Boehner said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Jim Manley, a senior communications advisor to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, praised the choice.

"An excellent choice. Rahm knows the Hill," he told CNN. "And he knows the White House. He is a brilliant strategic thinker and someone who knows how to get things done."

Related: Emanuel would bring 'tough minded' approach

Hillary Clinton earlier today at the polls.

(CNN) – Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have spoken, according to Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines.

Watch: Barack Obama is elected 44th president of The United States

The two spoke for a few minutes: Clinton congratulated Obama on his victory, and offered her condolences on the loss of his grandmother. Obama thanked the New York senator for all she did to help him win the election, and said he looks forward to speaking with both her and President Clinton soon.

Watch: The McCain campaigns latest ad takes aim at Obama's hometown political figures.

(CNN) – Former Commerce Secretary Bill Daley, the unwilling co-star of a Monday attack ad from John McCain's campaign, told CNN he was "shocked" by the spot: "I always had a good relationship with [McCain] - or I thought I did."

The McCain spot attacks Barack Obama for his connection to "Chicago politics," pointing to his relationships with convicted developer Tony Rezko, embattled Governor Rod Blagojevich - and Daley.

Daley accused McCain of hypocrisy for attacking Obama on lobbyists: "When I was at [telecom company] SBC, I had to hire [McCain campaign manager] Rick Davis to see John McCain," he said. "He wouldn't see anyone unless you hired one of his lobbyist friends. Telecom was his and Rick Davis was his telecom lobbyist. That was in '02, '03, '04."

He said that McCain voted for his confirmation as Commerce Secretary, and pointed to the Arizona senator's public praise of his work in the Clinton cabinet.

(For instance, during a May 1998 confirmation hearing for another Commerce official, McCain said that since Daley's arrival, "relations for the department have been improving. Mr. Daley's frank, honest style and hard work have been reaping rewards." And in 2000, he pointed to Daley's "valiant effort to clean up the Commerce Department's reputation as a dumping ground for the politically connected.")

Said Daley Monday: "I think [McCain] has totally sold his soul to get elected. The things he found important in 2000 he isn't doing now."

DENVER (CNN) - Hillary Clinton's speech was a work-in-progress until the last minute, a Clinton aide tells CNN: speech-writers pulled an all-nighter and rushed it into the teleprompter. The video tribute to the New York senator was also a last-minute affair, and barely got done in time.

Tonight's speech was written by Lissa Muscatine, Jim Kennedy and chief speechwriter Jon Lovett, working closely with long-time Clinton advisors Maggie Williams and Cheryl Mills.

Clinton will make a 'compelling case' for Obama, her spokesman said.

(CNN) - In one of the most anticipated speeches of the week, Hillary Clinton will urge her backers - some of which remain wary of supporting Barack Obama - to unify behind the party's presumptive nominee.

Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines tells CNN the onetime rival of Obama will make a compelling case the Illinois senator must be the next President of the United States.

She will also express her appreciation for those who supported her primary bid and focus on the differences between Obama and McCain, not those between herself and the Illinois senator.

DENVER, Colorado (CNN) – Hillary Clinton will meet with her primary delegates Wednesday – and will likely release them to Barack Obama at the event, CNN confirms.

Two Democratic sources say the Clinton reception will take place at 1:15 p.m. MT, before that evening’s roll call vote.

"It’s an opportunity for Senator Clinton to see her delegates - many for the first time since the primaries ended, thank them for their hard work and support, and most importantly to encourage them to support and work for Senator Obama as strongly as she has in order to elect him in November," said Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines.

The timing of Clinton’s official call had been one of the final unresolved questions surrounding the Democratic convention, following the announcement earlier this month that the New York senator’s name would be placed in nomination, and the Sunday morning decision of the Credentials Committee to seat the Florida and Michigan delegations at full voting strength.

Clinton had long pressed for both states to have their full voting privileges restored; a few weeks ago, at a fundraiser, she seemed to suggest that placing her name in nomination at the convention in Denver might provide a “catharsis” for some of her supporters.

Clinton has been informed she will not be Obama's VP.

(CNN) – Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama has ruled out Senator Hillary Clinton as his vice presidential running mate, a senior Democratic official told CNN on Friday night.

Clinton - Obama's main rival during the primary season - has been informed by Obama's campaign that she is not his choice to be his vice presidential candidate, the source said.

Obama has already made his decision, say sources.

(CNN) – Sen. Barack Obama called some people on his short-list for the vice presidential slot Thursday night to tell them he had not selected them as running mate, a highly placed Democratic party source told CNN.

The source did not say which people got the call.

Obama has told some other potential running mates over the last few weeks that he would not be choosing them.

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(CNN) - Fred Baron, the finance chairman for the John Edwards presidential campaign, said in a Friday statement that he paid to help the woman Edwards had an extramarital affair with, and the former aide who was the alleged father of her child, move out of the former North Carolina senator’s home state.

“I decided independently to help two friends and former colleagues rebuild their lives when harassment by supermarket tabloids made it impossible for them to move forward on their own,” he said of his efforts to aid Rielle Hunter and Andrew Young.

“I did this of my own volition without the instruction or suggestion of anyone, and made a conscious decision not to tell anyone, including John Edwards, that assistance was provided,” he added. “The assistance was offered and accepted without condition. This is now and shall always remain a private matter between these individuals and me.”

Hunter and Young lived separately at an upscale development in Chapel Hill, and later in Santa Barbara, California.

Michelle Obama will be surrounded by a team of veteran aides.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Barack Obama’s presidential campaign is planning to beef up the team surrounding his wife Michelle Obama, to give her the kind of professional campaign veterans experienced in rapid response to negative attacks – the kind of staff that is usually only seen around an actual candidate, according to a senior aide.

The move is meant to address concerns within the campaign that Michelle Obama will be the target of significant attacks from conservatives this year. Their pre-emptive response is a team that one aide says is unprecedented in presidential politics. According to multiple aides, this team will work with Mrs. Obama to modify her stump speech - in part to include more stories from the voters she met during the primary season - in a bid to counter criticism by some conservatives that she is out of touch.

Former Kerry campaign Communications Director Stephanie Cutter has already been tapped as Mrs. Obama’s chief of staff, and additional staff will be hired in the coming weeks.

Aides say they expect Mrs. Obama to make occasional campaign stops over the next several weeks - including roundtables with military wives, and a womens’ event next week – before hitting the trail full time around July 4.

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Clinton and Obama are set to make their first post-primary season appearance next week.

(CNN) - Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will make a joint public appearance next week for the first time since she ended her White House bid.

Clinton's national finance director, Jonathan Mantz, sent top donors an invitation Tuesday for a June 26 meeting in Washington, D.C. featuring both former rivals. Mantz also asked Clinton donors to show unity by giving Obama $2,300, the maximum donation allowable under federal campaign finance laws.

He added that Clinton "will do everything she can to unify the party and to elect Barack Obama the next President of the United States."

(CNN) - Ellen Malcom, founder of Emily's List and a major Clinton supporter, met with Obama campaign manager David Plouffe at campaign headquarters in Chicago Tuesday.

Malcom, who has warned Obama publicly that he has to do more work to attract blue-collar women, told CNN the meeting included Emily's List Executive Director Ellen Moran and Obama's deputy campaign manager Steve Hildebrand. She also said it lasted more than an hour, and was "great."

Several weeks ago, Malcolm released an angry statement terming NARAL's decision to endorse Obama over Hillary Clinton "tremendously disrespectful." Less than two weeks ago, she sent an e-mail to supporters in which she spoke positively of Obama, but said she was not quite over her "anger and grief" at Clinton's loss.

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