1) House Democratic campaign chief Chris Van Hollen is calling for the Senate to pass a bill to bring transparency to the outside spending in elections after groups spent over $450 million in the midterms, a lot of it undisclosed. The House has already passed campaign transparency legislation.

2) The New York Times notes in an editorial that the trend in outside spending in elections will only increase in 2012.

3) Rep. Luis Gutierrez admitted to the FBI that he accepted free home renovations from embattled real estate developer Tony Rezko, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

4) The Cheese Industrial Complex and the USDA.