Climate Talks Wind Down; Talk Of Plot Against Karzai; Obama's Approval Drops

Good morning.

Most of the headlines from Copenhagen as the day's gotten going have been about the seemingly low chances for agreement on a comprehensive climate change treaty.

As NPR's Richard Harris reports, there's been some movement on aid to poor countries — but the nations are still far apart on key issues as the two-week summit heads into its last couple days:

The Guardian describes the U.S. commitment to support a $100 billion fund to aid poor nations as they cope with climate change as a "bid to break Copenhagen deadlock."

President Barack Obama is scheduled to leave Washington this evening to join the talks tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Britain's Telegraph is saying that "Climategate just got much, much bigger." It's pointing to word from Russia that British scientists allegedly "tampered with Russian-climate data" to exaggerate global warming.

And while we're on the subject of climate change and the Copenhagen summit, NPR's David Kestenbaum filed this story for Morning Edition about the substantial amount of carbon dioxide all those jet-flying, motorcade-riding diplomats are spewing out. He says about 40,000 tons of carbon dioxide will be generated by the conference, which is about what 2,000 Americans generate in the course of a year. The Danish government is trying to offset the output by paying for more efficient brick kilns in Bangladesh:

Earlier this week, Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart put its own stamp on the story of the summit's carbon footprint (fair warning: a couple expletives are barely bleeped):

As for other stories making headlines today, they include:

— The New York Times — "U.N. Officials Say American Aide Plotted to Replace Karzai": "As widespread fraud in the Afghanistan presidential election was becoming clear three months ago, the No. 2 United Nations official in the country, the American Peter W. Galbraith, proposed enlisting the White House in a plan to replace the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, according to two senior United Nations officials. ... Mr. Galbraith said in an interview that he discussed but never actively promoted the idea of persuading Mr. Karzai to leave office."

— ABC News — "Hasan Permanently Paralyzed, But Out Of ICU": "Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist charged with murdering 13 people in last month's deadly Fort Hood shootings, has been left permanently paralyzed, but has recovered enough from his own wounds to be moved out of the intensive care unit. Defense lawyer John Galligan told ABC News on Wednesday that Major Hasan still has no sensation from the chest down, but has left the ICU at San Antonio's Brooke Army Medical Center, where he has been hospitalized since a day after the November 6 shooting, for a private room in another ward. He was moved late Tuesday night."

— MSNBC — Obama's Approval Below 50%; Democrats Even Lower: In NBC News/Wall Street Journal polling, "for the first time, (President Barack) Obama's overall job approval rating has fallen below 50 percent (to 47 percent). In addition, for the first time since Sept. 2007, a plurality (45 percent) sees the Democratic Party in a negative light. And the percentage believing the country is on the wrong track (55 percent) is at its highest level in the Obama presidency."

— The Associated Press — "Mexican Navy Kills Top Cartel Kingpin": "Two hundred sailors raided an upscale apartment complex and killed a reputed Mexican drug cartel chief in a two-hour gunbattle, one of the biggest victories yet in President Felipe Calderon's drug war. Arturo Beltran Leyva, the "boss of bosses," and three members of his cartel were slain in the shootout Wednesday in Cuernavaca, just south of Mexico City, according to a navy statement. A fifth cartel member committed suicide during the shootout."

— Morning Edition — Taking Away Pakistani President's Amnesty Could Change Country's Political Course. The Supreme Court in Pakistan has nullified a sweeping amnesty that allowed President Asif Ali Zardari to return from exile two years ago. From Islamabad, NPR's Julie McCarthy told co-host Steve Inskeep about the ramifications, which possibly include Zardari's removal from office:

Contributing: Chinita Anderson of Morning Edition.