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Press conference at 1:45

Typically at this time of year, the ice would be covered with fishing shanties. But this Wednesday, Lake Monona is bare because the ice is too thin. According to a new study by Clear the Air, Lake Monona has been thawing three days earlier per decade since the 1800's. The data also shows 75-percent of lakes in the U.S. are staying frozen for less time and thawing earlier each year. The Clean Wisconsin Association says they have no doubt global warming is to blame. Katie Nekola is the program director. She says, "It’s accelerating rapidly as we speak and I...

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Bush says the deal allowing an Arab company to take over six major U.S. seaports should go forward and he will veto any bill that would stop it.

President Bush took part in the annual lighting of the National Christmas tree last night, but failed to mention by name Jesus Christ, whose birth millions celebrate in the U.S. and around the world. "Christmas is a time to rejoice, and to give thanks for the blessings of the season and for the blessings that surround us every day of the year," said Bush, flanked by the first lady, as well as members of Congress and the Cabinet. The president made a brief allusion to Jesus, but crafted it into a joke which got mild response. "Each year, we gather...

By TODD PITMAN BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq rose to 1,500 after the military announced Thursday that a soldier was killed in action just south of the capital, an Associated Press count showed. The latest fatality occurred Wednesday in Babil province, part of an area known as the "Triangle of Death" because of the frequency of insurgent attacks on U.S.- and Iraqi-led forces there. In eastern Baghdad, two suicide car bombs exploded outside the Interior Ministry, killing at least two policemen and wounding five others, police Maj. Jabar Hassan said. Officials at nearby...

Tapes: Nixon Called Reagan 'Strange' 1 hour, 7 minutes ago By JONATHAN D. SALANT, Associated Press Writer COLLEGE PARK, Md. - President Nixon didn't think much of fellow Californian and Republican icon Ronald Reagan (news - web sites), calling him "strange" and not "pleasant to be around," newly released White House tapes show. Talking politics with White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman at Camp David in August 1972, Nixon switched the conversation to two Republican governors, Reagan of California and Nelson Rockefeller of New York. Both men unsuccessfully sought the 1968 Republican presidential nomination that Nixon received. "Reagan is...

When Dotty Lynch, CBS's senior political editor, wrote a column criticizing Howard Dean on foreign policy, she was deluged with e-mails defending the Democratic presidential candidate, often in similar language. "They were all rather insulting: 'Why don't you do your research?' " Lynch says. "When anything's orchestrated, you sort of smell a rat." The letters were indeed generated by Dean Defense Forces, a volunteer outfit affiliated with the doctor's campaign. Day after day, the DDF Web log, which is linked to Dean's official site, hammers reporters deemed critical of Dean and urges its followers to flood the in-boxes of offending...