W.H. to Reid: Cut deal with Lieberman  —  The White House is encouraging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to cut a deal with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and eliminate the proposed Medicare expansion in the health reform bill, according to an official close to the negotiations.

Under Murdoch, Tilting Rightward at The Journal  —  Sunday was the second anniversary of the sale of The Wall Street Journal to Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.  At that time, a chorus of journalism church ladies (I was among them) warned that one of the crown jewels of American journalism …

Disaster and Denial  —  When I first began writing for The Times, I was naïve about many things.  But my biggest misconception was this: I actually believed that influential people could be moved by evidence, that they would change their views if events completely refuted their beliefs.

Climate talks row sees negotiations ‘suspended’  —  Negotiations at the UN climate summit have been suspended after developing countries withdrew their co-operation.  —  Delegations were angry at what they saw as moves by the Danish host government to sideline talks on more emission cuts under the Kyoto Protocol.

Secret document exposes Iran's nuclear trigger  —  Confidential intelligence documents obtained by The Times show that Iran is working on testing a key final component of a nuclear bomb.  —  The notes, from Iran's most sensitive military nuclear project, describe a four-year plan to test …

This Is Huge: Rep. Bart Gordon Will Not Run For Re-Election  —  Boom goes the press release: … There really isn't anyway to spin as anything but bad for Democrats.  Whatever their reasons, the retirement of both John Tanner and Bart Gordon mean that only two years before redistricting …

Banks: We'll ‘step up now’  —  Facing White House pressure to increase lending, bank CEOs plan to tell President Barack Obama in a meeting on Monday that they are ready to “step up” and take additional steps to promote economic recovery, industry officials tell POLITICO.

Pong, You're Dead: The Dems' Secret Weapon  —  Sudden Victory: People in the know in Washington appear to have already considered and dismissed the “ping pong” option—the possibility that if the Senate finally passes a compromise health care bill, Pelosi's House might simply vote “yes” …

Bayh wants Obama to veto omnibus bill  —  Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) called on President Barack Obama Monday to veto the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill that just passed through Congress.  —  Bayh was one of three Democrats who joined most Senate Republicans in voting against the bill …

Did AmeriCorps official lie about possible First Lady link to IG firing?  —  Congressional investigators looking into the abrupt firing of AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin have discovered that the head of AmeriCorps met with a top aide to First Lady Michelle Obama the day before Walpin was removed.

Charles Lane on job-killers that should be killed  —  With unemployment stuck around 10 percent, President Obama has pledged “to take every responsible step to accelerate the pace of job growth.”  Here's a thought: Instead of trying to “create” jobs by tweaking this tax break or increasing …

Torture, Chrysler cases ended; 3 grants  —  The Supreme Court refused on Monday to hear a major new case involving a claim of torture by four Britons while they were held at Guantanamo Bay.  It also wiped out the last remaining challenge to the deal that saved the automaker Chrysler, and it granted three new cases.

Dick Armey Q&A: Republicans Must Learn To Follow Constitution  —  Posted by Declan McCullagh Speculation about the future of the Republican Party has become an entertaining armchair sport: Will next year's congressional elections mark a repeat of the Democratic rout of 1994?