Baucus Nominated Girlfriend for U.S. Attorney  —  Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus' office confirmed late Friday night that the Montana Democrat was carrying on an affair with his state office director, Melodee Hanes, when he nominated her to be U.S. attorney in Montana.

Palin Puts The Trig Question Back On The Table  —  Sarah Palin has now made two very clear public statements in the last day about the legitimacy of questions about the maternity of her son Trig.  Here's the first, transcribed from the interview above: … And here's the second, a later Facebook attempt to walk back some of this:

Beck's ‘Christmas Sweater’ flops in major cities, just 17 tickets sold in New York and Boston.  —  Last night, Fox News host Glenn Beck premiered his new live show based on his book The Christmas Sweater, which was simulcast to hundreds of movie theaters across the country.

Obama delays Copenhagen, raises stakes  —  by Jim Tankersley and updated 4:50 pm EST  —  President Barack Obama will push back his visit to the international climate change treaty negotiations in Copenhagen from the first week of the conference to its final scheduled day, a senior White House official said this afternoon.

Aetna Forcing 600,000-Plus To Lose Coverage In Effort To Raise Profits  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Health insurance giant Aetna is planning to force up to 650,000 clients to drop their coverage next year as it seeks to raise additional revenue to meet profit expectations.

Met Office to re-examine 160 years of climate data  —  The Met Office plans to re-examine 160 years of temperature data after admitting that public confidence in the science on man-made global warming has been shattered by leaked e-mails.  —  The new analysis of the data will take three years …

McCain's madder than he's ever been  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) says he's “madder than he's ever been.”  —  And that's saying something.  —  Don Imus and the Arizona Republican were talking Friday morning about the February stimulus vote when McCain, who kept his famous temper at bay during the '08 campaign, went Howard Beale.

The $700 billion man  —  NEVADA COUNTY, CALIF. — He wears no coat though it's freezing, shines no light though it's near midnight, carries no shotgun though he's tramping on the pine-needled tracks of black bears.  —  He wants to be lost in these woods.  —  “Come on, you bums,” …

Prostitutes Offer Free Climate Summit Sex  —  Copenhagen Mayor Ritt Bjerregaard sent postcards to city hotels warning summit guests not to patronize Danish sex workers during the upcoming conference.  Now, the prostitutes have struck back, offering free sex to anyone who produces one of the warnings.

NV-Sen: Dear Harry, Kicking Your Ass is Going to be Fun  —  Harry Reid has raised a small fortune for his reelection campaign, and it's not working: … I've been talking to a lot of people in Arkansas recently, and they all say that Blanche Lincoln traded her vote on health care for her chairmanship of the Ag Committee.

Palin, Frank to Speak at Gridiron Dinner  —  This might not make the Sarah Palin Twitter feed.  —  The former Alaska governor and one-time vice presidential candidate has been traveling the country in recent weeks, promoting her book and disparaging Democrats, the Washington establishment and the media elite.

Sen. Sherrod Brown joins Republicans in demanding that Congress go on ‘public option,’ too  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Whenever Democrats talk about their proposed federally backed insurance plan, or public option, in the ongoing health-care debate, critics pipe up.

Apple Strikes Deal to Buy the Music Start-Up Lala  —  SAN FRANCISCO — In the most recent sign that Apple is looking at alternative ways for people to store and play their digital music, the company has agreed to buy Lala, a four-year-old start-up based in Palo Alto, Calif., a person with knowledge of the deal said Friday.

Gregg's Health Care Solution: 'If You Work For The Government, You'll Have The Same Health Care I Have'  —  In recent days, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) has been circulating a memo among his Republican colleagues, outlining the various tactics that the GOP can use to kill the health care legislation in the Senate.

Going for gold: Rudy Giuliani takes job as security consultant for Rio 2016 Olympic Games  —  Further proof that Rudy Giuliani is less than focused on running for office has emerged in an unlikely spot - Rio de Janeiro.  —  Brazilian officials, joined by Giuliani in sunny Rio …

Houston Mayor Bill White to run for Texas governor  —  rtgarrett@dallasnews.com  —  HOUSTON - Houston Mayor Bill White, vowing to fix Texas' public schools and clean its polluted air, announced today that he'll seek the Democratic nomination for governor.  —  With a high profile …