NJ Assembly passes death penalty ban; US accused of trying to derail Bali climate talks; US may be engaging Iran via Arab allies...

14 December :: New Jersey Assembly has passed death penalty ban, Gov. Corzine says he may sign within one week; 8 men currently awaiting execution will have sentences commuted to life in prison, observers comment some states may begin to follow suit, after DNA evidence has demonstrated high rate of erroneous convictions... The Bush admin. has been accused of trying to derail action on climate change at Bali conference, by proposing that all Kyoto-related regulations be voluntary, not binding; Guardian reports "The proposed text, tabled late last night and leaked at about midnight local time, would effectively allow any country to opt out of the next round of the Kyoto agreement. Observers said last night it could take climate change negotiations back more than a decade"... EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas has said there's some progress toward a 'Bali roadmap', which could lead to more aggressive action after a US-led climate summit in January, though EU ministers say they will boycott the summit if the Bush admin. does not back hard numerical targets in Bali... US appears to be pushing diplomatic initiative to engage Iran, by way of close Arab allies like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, in hopes nuclear weapons program remains frozen, relations improve with Islamic Republic... Oil industry, utilities have won major legislative battle as Senate passes trimmed down energy policy reform bill; according to the NY Times, "The legislation still contains a landmark increase in fuel-economy standards for vehicles and a huge boost for alternative fuels. But a $13 billion tax increase on oil companies and a requirement that utilities nationwide produce 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources were left on the floor to secure Republican votes for the package"... Fmr. Sen. Mitchell's report on steroid use in Major League Baseball names raft of top players, all-time legends, raising serious questions about MLB complicity and future Hall of Fame awards, record books, even recent World Series titles... UK gov't reportedly preparing for 'nationalization' of troubled Northern Rock bank, as feeling takes hold that only state ownership will prevent total collapse of lending institution, potential economic repercussions across Great Britain...

Senate vote one short of passage of energy bill; judiciary committee votes for contempt charges against 2 Bush aides...

13 December :: Pro-industry forces in the US Senate have blocked the sweeping energy-policy reform bill that Democrats have touted as necessary for future economic and ecological wellbeing of the nation; "in order to bring the bill to a vote, Democrats were forced to drop a provision that required utilities to obtain at least 15% of their electricity from renewable resources, such as wind and solar power. These industries have now suffered another blow because the production tax credit for wind and the investment tax credit for solar, which both expire at the end of 2008, still don't have the funding to extend them"... US Senate judiciary committee imposes contempt citations on White House chief of staff Josh Bolton and fmr. Bush aide, Karl Rove, for refusing to cooperate with probe into firing of federal prosecutors, allegedly for political reasons; White House maintains the firings were performance-based and says Bush's aides are protected from being called to testify by the principle of 'executive privilege'; Sen. Arlen Specter, the committee's top Republican, was one of two Republicans to vote for contempt charges, saying the refusal to testify violates the Congressional subpoenas issued... A major prosecution of what the Justice Dept. has called "homegrown terrorism" has ended in mistrial, Washington Post reports "A federal jury deadlocked over charges that six men from a fringe religious group conspired to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and instigate a war against the United States", while another defendant was cleared of all charges; new trial to start 7 January 2008...

CIA director says 'Executive' approved waterboarding, Congress knew of tapes in '03; UK's Brown to sign Lisbon treaty, but alone, away from cameras...

12 December :: CIA director Hayden has said harsh interrogation techniques appearing on destroyed video tapes "reviewed and approved by the Department of Justice and by other elements of the Executive Branch"; he has briefed Senate intelligence committee, but said he was unable to answer all questions, because tapes were made under one predecessor and destroyed under another, that he would make the most knowledgeable witnesses available to Congress for questioning; Hayden also said the tapes were made known to Congress in 2003, as was the intention to destroy them; they had been ordered preserved by a federal judge before their destruction... UK PM Gordon Brown seems to have offended all parties by arriving late to sign Lisbon treaty; foreign minister will attend photo ops, Brown to sign late, by himself, has been criticized for lack of leadership on issue... 6 young people shot at close range after stepping off school bus in Las Vegas; police gang unit has been activated, investigators suspect shooting linked to fight at high school hours before shooting; at least two shooting suspects are at large, while three boys have been arrested for the school fight, allegedly over a girl; one man is in critical condition, one boy in serious condition, the other 4 have minor wounds... In early primary voting state, NH, Sen. Obama has "caught" Sen. Clinton in opinion polls, with 30% to her 31%, after support among women in NH dropped severely for Clinton...

Justice, CIA, at least one Congressional committee to probe CIA destruction of video evidence; Obama camp hosts 30,000 in SC, with Oprah...

9 December :: LA Times reporting "The Justice Department and the CIA's Office of the Inspector General said Saturday that they had launched a joint inquiry into the CIA's controversial destruction of videotaped interrogations of two Al Qaeda suspects"; unnamed staffer for Senate judiciary committee said probes could lead to charges of obstruction of justice, false testimony before Congress, both federal crimes; House intelligence committee has also announced its own probe into the matter... Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), with Oprah Winfrey at his side, hosts crowd of 30,000 in SC, the largest gathering of prospective voters to date in the already long-running 2008 presidential campaign... Bali conference to face task of mobilizing global resources to combat acceleration of climate change; TIME reports that the US gov't sticking point that developing nations should be reined in on emissions also could undermine Bali negotiations: "Beijing and New Delhi both argue that the vast majority of historical carbon emissions came from the developed nations (CO2 stays in the air for up to 200 years), so action should come from the rich first — a contention arguably supported by the UNFCCC itself, which calls for "common but differentiated responsibilities" between nations on climate change"...