Good morning.

Protesters and police clashed today at the climate talks in Copenhagen and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is Time magazine's "person of the year."

Those are two stories we've already posted about.

As for other news making headlines:

— The Washington Post — "U.S. Gave Up Billions In Tax Money In Deal For Citigroup's Bailout Repayment": "The federal government quietly agreed to forgo billions of dollars in potential tax payments from Citigroup as part of the deal announced this week to wean the company from the massive taxpayer bailout that helped it survive the financial crisis."

— Morning Edition — "Senate Inches Toward Final Vote On Health Bill": NPR's Julie Rovner and Don Gonyea report about the 11th-hour progress on health care overhaul legislation and the the lack of Republican support for the Democrats' plan:

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— The Wall Street Journal — "Congress Travels More, Public Pays": "Lawmakers take scores of overseas trips each year to visit military bases, meet foreign officials, attend conferences and see how U.S. funds are spent. Ever since a corruption scandal in 2005 led to restrictions on privately funded travel, legislators have been taking more trips paid for by the government." Congressional lawmakers' costs for such travel abroad totaled "$13 million in 2008, a 70% jump from 2005, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of travel records."

— USA TODAY — "25,000 School Cafeterias Lack Required Inspections": "More than 8,500 schools failed to have their kitchens inspected at all last year, and another 18,000 fell short of a requirement in the Child Nutrition Act that calls for cafeteria inspections at least twice a year, USA TODAY found. ... Data kept by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that norovirus caused at least one-third of the 23,000 food-borne illness cases reported in schools from 1998 through 2007. The toll: about 7,500 sick children, USA TODAY found. Those figures represent just a fraction of all cases."

— The New York Times — "Nuclear Power Expansion In China Stirs Concerns": "China is preparing to build three times as many nuclear power plants in the coming decade as the rest of the world combined, a breakneck pace with the potential to help slow global warming. ... Inside and outside the country, the speed of the construction program has raised safety concerns. China has asked for international help in training a force of nuclear inspectors."

As for news to watch for later today:

— The Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us how much consumer prices changed (most likely, they went up a bit) in November. That report's due at 8:30 a.m. ET.

— The Census Bureau reports about November housing construction, also at 8:30 a.m. ET.

— Federal Reserve policymakers tell us about their latest thinking regarding the economy and interest rates. The Fed's statement is due at 2:15 p.m. ET. It's expected that policymakers will leave short-term interest rates unchanged.