Reid Says Deal Resolves the Impasse on the Public Option  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, said Tuesday night that he and a group of 10 Democratic senators had reached “a broad agreement” to resolve a dispute over a proposed government-run health insurance plan …

Copenhagen's political science  —  With the publication of damaging e-mails from a climate research center in Britain, the radical environmental movement appears to face a tipping point.  The revelation of appalling actions by so-called climate change experts allows the American public …

Sotomayor Draws Retort From a Fellow Justice  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court released its first four decisions in argued cases this term on Tuesday.  They were all minor, but one was notable for being Justice Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court debut and for prompting a testy concurrence from Justice Clarence Thomas.

Bush closes the gap  —  Public Policy Polling:  —  Perhaps the greatest measure of Obama's declining support is that just 50% of voters now say they prefer having him as President to George W. Bush, with 44% saying they'd rather have his predecessor.  Given the horrendous approval ratings …

‘Eight Days of Hanukkah’  —  MORE: Watch the “Eight Days of Hanukkah” video.  —  Ten years ago, I visited Orrin Hatch, the senior senator from Utah and a prominent member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on Capitol Hill.  I was writing for The New York Times Magazine and Hatch was thinking of running for president.

Mark Penn's two firms got $6 million from stimulus for PR campaign  —  Nearly $6 million in stimulus money was paid to two firms run by Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton's pollster in 2008.  —  Federal records show that $5.97 million from the $787 billion stimulus helped preserve three jobs at Burson-Marsteller …

Did Obama Snub the King?  — Home - Cheat sheet - Buzz board - Big Fat Story - Blogs & stories - Videos - Galleries - Crossword  —  Blogs and Stories  —  Finally some Europeans are angry with Obama—the very ones who are awarding him his peace prize.  Katarina Andersson on the president's rebuff …

Breaking News: Pakistan Reportedly Detains Five D.C.-Area Muslims on Suspicion of Terror  —  A Pakistani newspaper reports the arrest of five foreign nationals after a raid in a town called Sargodha.  The raid took place at the home of a member of the Jaish-e-Muhammad, a Pakistani movement designated …

Steele gets heated over ‘you people’  —  Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele got into a heated exchange Wednesday morning with the cast of MSNBC's “Morning Joe.”  —  It started with CNBC commentator Donny Deutsch, who pointedly asked Steele about the GOP's criticism …

Exclusive: George gets ‘GMA’  —  ABC News will announce George Stephanopoulos as an anchor of “Good Morning America,” to start as soon as Monday, industry sources tell POLITICO.  The announcement is planned for Thursday.  —  Stephanopoulos, 48, joins Robin Roberts at the anchor desk of the lucrative morning show.

Climategate: Gore falsifies the record  —  Al Gore has studied the Climategate emails with his typically rigorous eye and dismissed them as mere piffle: … And in case you think that was a mere slip of the tongue: … In fact, thrice denied: … In fact, as Watts Up With That shows …

Letting insurers ‘win’  —  “We WIN,” some insurance industry insider crowed to Ben Smith.  “Administered by private insurance companies.  No government funding.  No government insurance competitor.”  Similarly but oppositely, a few anxious e-mailers have written to ask whether Medicare buy …

Jon Stewart Calls Out Gretchen Carlson For “Dumbing Herself Down” (VIDEO)  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Jon Stewart went after “Fox & Friends” host Gretchen Carlson last night.  Saying she plays the “troubled mom, just trying to make sense of this modern country,” Stewart explained Carlson seems …

Evan Bayh's political crossroads  —  Photo by Nikki Kahn of the Washington Post  —  Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh's vote this week in favor of an amendment to the health care bill that would have strengthened restrictions on how federal funds could be spent for abortions is the latest sign …