The Georgia Mae Evening News

It’s been a bumpy week for the Obama team. First, Nancy Killefer, tapped to be the federal government’s chief performance officer, withdrew her nomination after reports that she had neglected to pay employment taxes for household help. Then, Tom Daschle, the president’s pick as secretary of health and human services, followed suit amid revelations he failed to pay federal taxes. Now, Hilda Solis’ nomination to be secretary of labor has come under attack by Senate Republicans raising questions about her husband’s taxes. Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee issued a joint statement just before the committee was scheduled to vote on Solis’ nomination to say they need more time to review documentation. CBSNews

One week after the U.S. Army announced record suicide rates among its soldiers last year, the service is worried about a spike in possible suicides in the new year. The Army said 24 soldiers are believed to have committed suicide in January alone — six times as many as killed themselves in January 2008, according to statistics released Thursday. If these 24 deaths, some of which are still being investigated, are all confirmed as suicides more soldiers will have killed themselves than died in combat last month. CNN

Legendary soul singer Etta James, famous for her rendition of the song “At Last,” is apparently miffed that pop star Beyonce was tapped to perform the ballad as the president and first lady slow-danced during the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball on January 20. “You guys know your president, right?” the singer asked an audience in Canada last week, according to audio posted on TMZ.com. “You know the one with big ears? Yeah, wait a minute. He ain’t my president.”
She then went after Beyonce: “That woman singing for him, singing my song? She’s gonna get her ass whipped.” CNN

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had surgery Thursday after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Ginsburg, 75, had the surgery at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York and will remain in the hospital for seven to 10 days. In 1999, Ginsburg had surgery for colon cancer and had chemotherapy and radiation treatment. The only woman on the court, she has been a justice since 1993. MSNBC