WHILE AMERICA WAS SLEEPING, I fixed a 'news breakfast' for you -- ready each weekday morning at 6am to satisfy your media craving. These must-reads will help you kick start the day:
 

TODAY'S BIG NEWS -- Groundhog Day in Chile: Miners are being rescued one by one after 69 days --  Live video feed @ CNN (in English), Canal 13 Chile (in Spanish) -- Live blog @ WSJ

Media Circus: "The joy of family members of the first miner to be rescued in Chile Wednesday turned suddenly to horror when hundreds of journalists trampled their humble tent in a mad rush to speak to them." (AFP)

2010

In South Dakota, Another Sarah? "If money is any indication, the hottest Republican House candidate in the country is Kristi Noem. The 38-year-old rancher has raised more campaign cash than any Republican house challenger in the country." (ABC)

Paladino Repents: "New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino apologized for comments "that may have offended the gay and lesbian community" after his remarks to an Orthodox Jewish group drew fire earlier this week." (CNN)

Arnold Endorses Crist: "I endorse Gov @charliecristfl for Senate. Great leader, works with both parties, and our country needs someone like him in DC right now." (Twitter)

Contentious Brown vs Whitman Final Debate: "The rivals for California governor continue their attacks on each other and stick to their talking points without offering details on how they would fix the troubled state." (LA Times)

Angle Raised $14m in 3rd Quarter: "Ninety four percent of the money raised in the third quarter by Angle came in the form of donation of $100 or less. Ninety six percent of the contributions were $200 or less." (Chris Cillizza @ WaPo)

Bill Clinton Rides to the Rescue: "At a rally inside Valley High School's gym, Clinton said that "in a normal time" Reid would be winning his re-election bid by 25 points and his GOP challenger Sharron Angle wouldn't be a electoral threat to the incumbent. But these are not normal times, Clinton acknowledged, addressing up to 1,600 people as Reid sat on a stage at his side after telling his backers the economy is his No. 1 concern, too." (Las Vegas Review Journal)

Chamber of Commerce Defiant, Will Spend More: "In a defiant letter to the chamber's board of directors, Donohue denied White House and Democratic claims that the chamber has used foreign money to pay for its political ads this election campaign. 'It's sad to watch the White House stoop to these depths and try to salvage an election,' Donohue wrote." (AP)

Oil-Drillling Decision Could Boost Dems: "While drilling isn't expected to start again immediately, the timing of the announcement — six weeks ahead of schedule and three weeks before congressional and state elections — could give Democrats a boost at the polls. The moratorium has been blamed for thousands of lost jobs in an already damaged economy and posed a potential drag on some Gulf-area Democrats' election prospects." (McClatchy)

New Tech, No Difference: "On Tuesday night, Obama took his youth tour a step further, fielding the first-ever presidential question via the Internet-calling service Skype. . . . But if the technology was an exciting challenge, the question was decidedly not." (WaPo)

U.S.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Enforce: "The government has 60 days to appeal the ruling, which gives the administration until after the midterm election next month to make a decision. But it also presents a problem for President Obama as he tries to rally his Democratic base. . . . In a separate case that posed a similar problem, the administration decided Tuesday to appeal two court rulings in Massachusetts that found unconstitutional the federal definition of marriage as between a man and a woman." (LA Times)

Brewer -- I Am Fine: "Blog posts have suggested that the 66-year-old Brewer has an unreported medical problem that could keep her from serving out her term if elected in November. . . . Meanwhile, her campaign manager responded to the rumors with a counterpunch, suggesting that Goddard is gay." (AP)

Now That Would Be a Thanksgiving Dinner From Hell: "The latest discovery from Ancestry.com shows that . . . Obama and Palin are 10th cousins, connected through their common ancestor John Smith.  Obama and Limbaugh are 10th cousins, once removed, through common ancestor Richard Terrell." (Fox News)

Rhee Steps Down: "D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee will announce Wednesday that she is resigning at the end of this month, bringing an abrupt end to a tenure that drew national acclaim but that also became a central issue in an election that sent her patron, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, to defeat." (WaPo)

Money

Futures Point to Higher Open on Wall Street: "Stock index futures pointed to a higher open for Wall Street on Wednesday, boosted by growing expectations of further quantitative easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve and an upbeat forecast from technology firm Intel." (Reuters)

Long Recovery Looks Like Recession: "Put simply, the national economy has fallen so far that it could take years to climb back." (NY Times)

Fears of Global Currency War Rise: "Emerging markets have been caught in the middle of a seemingly intractable dispute over exchange rates and capital flows between the US and China, on evidence again at the International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington over the weekend." (FT)

China's Trade Surplus Narrows to $16.9bn in September: "But analysts say the decline is unlikely to ease the pressure on Beijing to strengthen its currency." (BBC)

Iraq Oil 'a Game-Changer': "Fatih Birol, the IEA's chief economist, said in an interview that 20 years from now, Iraq could be pumping two to three times more than the 2.5 million barrels a day it currently produces—"comforting" oil markets worried about shrinking supplies, and possibly buffering against price spikes." (WSJ)

Freeelancing Reshapes Economy and Jobs: "Across the nation, many companies are shifting to a more flexible workforce populated by temporary workers, contractors and freelancers, loosening the bond between businesses and employees. The firms, aiming to become more nimble and cut costs, want to boost or cut staffing to meet fluctuating demand or deploy workers with specialized skills for short-term projects." (USA Today)

World

Ahmadinejad Touches Ground in Lebanon: "Iran's leader is to inflame tensions in the Middle East with a provocative tour of the Israeli border during a two-day trip to Lebanon. Iranian officials have indicated that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plans to throw a "symbolic" stone at an Israeli border point during the visit." (Daily Telegraph)

Explosion at Iran's Army Base: 18 Revolutionary Guard members killed. (AP)

India Elected to U.N. Security Council: "In polling for 10 seats that took place at the U.N. headquarters in New York, India received the highest number of votes — 187 out of 192 — among all countries in the fray." (The Hindu)

'We were ready to negotiate': "Afghan negotiators say they were at Linda Norgrove kidnap site when US troops began rescue mission" (Guardian)

Tech, Science

Facebook Dials Up Security with Temporary Passwords via Text: "Facebook Security LockFacebook has released a new feature to help users protect their accounts when they log into public computers: one-time passwords." (Mashable)

5 Pros, 5 Cons for Sony Internet TV (DVice)

'Do You Want Fries With That?', Your Personal Trainer Can Now Ask: Potatoes can be part of weight-loss diet, a study finds. (UPI)

Media, Entertainment

KCET Goes Rogue: "The flagship of PBS in the [L.A.] local market for 40 years, KCET announced Friday that it was pulling out of the network, effective Jan. 1, and becoming an independent outlet after wrangling with network officials for months over dues and other issues. The move was instantly assailed by viewers, many of whom worried about being denied access to favorite shows. . . . KOCE-TV, the Orange County 'secondary' affiliate that airs only 25% of PBS programming, will likely step up and become a primary station" (LAT)