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Paris Climate Talks Face A Familiar Hurdle — American Politics

Coal miner Dennis Ferrell watches over conveyer belts carrying coal out of a mine in Welch, W.Va. Climate talks in Paris are focused on moving away from coal in hopes of protecting the environment. David Goldman/AP hide caption

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David Goldman/AP

Heating Up

Paris Climate Talks Face A Familiar Hurdle — American Politics

The U.S. and China are the world's two largest polluters, but the will to do something about climate change is lower in both than in the rest of the world. In the U.S., there's a party split.

Public's Opinion Of George W. Bush Is Turning Positive

Former President George W. Bush and his successor, President Obama, at the April 25 dedication of Bush's library on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Larry W. Smith /EPA /LANDOV hide caption

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Larry W. Smith /EPA /LANDOV

The Two-Way

Public's Opinion Of George W. Bush Is Turning Positive

For the first time since 2005, Gallup's polling shows Bush's "favorable" rating exceeding his "unfavorable" number. The polling firm says it's normal for Americans' opinions of former presidents to improve over time.

Gun Control: 'Only Modest Change' In Opinion Since Newtown Shootings

A Sig Sauer handgun on sale at a shop in Tucker, Ga. Erik S. Lesser /EPA /LANDOV hide caption

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Erik S. Lesser /EPA /LANDOV

The Two-Way

Gun Control: 'Only Modest Change' In Opinion Since Newtown Shootings

The latest Pew poll shows a slight upward shift in the percentage of Americans who say it's more important to control gun ownership than it is to protect the right to own guns. But deeply felt feelings appear to be limiting the change.

Gun Control: 'Only Modest Change' In Opinion Since Newtown Shootings

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Will Newtown Killings Shift Public's Attitude On Guns?

A gun shop in Glendale, Calif. Gabriel Bouys /AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Gabriel Bouys /AFP/Getty Images

The Two-Way

Will Newtown Killings Shift Public's Attitude On Guns?

Polls showed little change in attitudes after the killings at Virginia Tech and a Colorado movie theater. The murders of 20 small children and six adults at an elementary school, though, might be so shocking that they'll move opinions. That's what happened after the April 1999 Columbine attack.