Today's Papers: GM Smiles Its Way Into Bankruptcy

The Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal continue to lead with the nationalization of General Motors. When the automaker filed for Chapter 11 protection yesterday morning it "became the second-largest industrial bankruptcy in history," notes the WSJ. President Obama marked the moment "by barely mentioning it," points out the NYT, instead choosing to focus on how filing for bankruptcy will give GM another shot at survival. Some Republican lawmakers were quick to criticize the Obama administration's decision to infuse more than $50 billion in taxpayer money into the automaker and called it another example of the deepening involvement of the government in the private sector. Others were skeptical that so much money was given "to a company lacking an answer to its most profound problem: how to get more car buyers to choose its cars and trucks," notes the LAT. Some members of Obama's party, particularly from industrial swing states, criticized the restructuring plan that will lead to more job losses.USA Today goes big with GM's bankruptcy filing but devotes its lead spot to the Air France jet carrying 228 people that vanished as it was making its way from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. Investigators began searching a vast swatch of the Atlantic Ocean for any signs of the Airbus 330-200, but there's little hope that anything will be found that could shed light on what happened to the plane as it traveled through a lighting storm off the Brazilian coast. Assuming all the people aboard were killed, it would be deadliest airline disaster since November 2001. Pilots flying another plane said they saw what looked like fire in the ocean along the route early yesterday.To continue reading, click here.