Lieberman Gets Ex-Party to Shift on Health Plan  —  WASHINGTON — Just the thought of Joseph I. Lieberman makes some Democrats want to spit nails these days.  But Mr. Lieberman, the Connecticut independent, is not the least troubled by his status as Capitol Hill's master infuriator …

Putting Obama on Hold, in a Hint of Who's Boss  —  President Obama didn't exactly look thrilled as he stared at the Polycom speakerphone in front of him.  “Well, I appreciate you guys calling in,” he began the meeting at the White House with Wall Street's top brass on Monday.

Inconvenient truth for Al Gore as his North Pole sums don't add up  —  Hannah Devlin, Ben Webster, Philippe Naughton in Copenhagen  —  There are many kinds of truth.  Al Gore was poleaxed by an inconvenient one yesterday.  —  The former US Vice-President, who became an unlikely figurehead …

Taunton second-grader suspended over drawing of Jesus  —  A Taunton father is outraged after his 8-year-old son was sent home from school and required to undergo a psychological evaluation after drawing a stick-figure picture of Jesus Christ on the cross.  —  The father said he got …

Conservatives grab for tea party cash  —  “It's time for the tea party movement to start flexing its muscle in the electoral process,” Odom said in announcing the launch of Liberty First, which he said collected $11,500 in its first week of fundraising, and has accepted pledges for another $98,000.

Schwarzenegger on Palin's global warming stance: Take her ‘with a grain of salt.’  —  One of the biggest critics of efforts to curb climate change is former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who recently called global warming “bogus.”  In a wide-ranging interview with The Financial Times …

House Democrats lose fourth member to retirement  —  Caucus privately expresses concern about implications  —  House Democrats got a jolt Monday when a fourth lawmaker in a matter of weeks announced his retirement, leaving party officials and strategists fearful that they represent …

DOE sends a “litigation hold notice” regarding CRU to employees - asking to “preserve documents”  —  It appears bigger things are brewing related to CRU's Climategate.  —  WUWT commenter J.C. writes in comments:  —  I work at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina.

U.S. Said to Pick Illinois Prison to House Detainees  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is expected to announce on Tuesday that it has selected a prison in northwestern Illinois to house terrorism suspects now being held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in a major step toward shutting down that military detention facility.

Obama's Christian Realism  —  If you were graduating from Princeton in the first part of the 20th century, you probably heard the university president, John Hibben, deliver one of his commencement addresses.  Hibben's running theme, which was common at that time, was that each person is part angel, part devil.

Poll: Obama approval rating positive, but just barely  —  There's a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll out today and Washington bureau chief Susan Page has the latest on President Obama's numbers:  —  When he was inaugurated in January, Obama scored a job rating of 64% approve-25% disapprove …

Poll: Action on climate will heat up economy, jobs  —  WASHINGTON — More Americans believe steps taken to reduce global warming pollution will help the U.S. economy than say such measures will hurt it.  It's a sign the public is showing more faith in President Barack Obama's economic arguments …

Memo may add to growing evidence of Iran's nuclear arms expertise  —  Long denied access to foreign technology because of sanctions, Iran has nevertheless learned how to make virtually every bolt and switch in a nuclear weapon, according to assessments by U.N. nuclear officials in internal documents …

Trusting Nature as the Climate Referee  —  Imagine there's no Copenhagen.  —  Imagine a planet in which global warming was averted without the periodic need for thousands of people to fly around the world to promise to stop burning fossil fuels.  Imagine no international conferences wrangling over the details of climate policy.

12/15: Favorable First Lady  —  Overall, registered voters nationally like First Lady Michelle Obama.  68% have a favorable impression of her compared with 20% who hold an unfavorable view of her.  Even a majority of Republicans — 53% — think well of Mrs. Obama.  85% of Democrats and 61% of Independents say the same.

Franken feuds with GOP's No. 4  —  Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) sparred sharply on the Senate floor Monday evening, a departure from the usually dormant speeches in the august chamber.  —  Franken said he was struck by a speech in which he said Thune had refused …