Sen. Ted Stevens, longtime Republican from Alaska, has lost his drawn-out race for his seat to Democrat March Begich.  That gives the Democrats 58 senate seats; 60 are needed to close debate, and there are two races still in the air.  Stevens was convicted of felony a week before Nov. 4, and is appealing.

In other news, it appears that president-elect Obama has selected Tom Daschle to be his health secretary, meaning the capable Daschle will be the one who writes Obama's proposal to revamp the health care system.