House Democrats appeared headed for a major legislative win this afternoon on a comprehensive energy and global warming bill after a furious day of lobbying on and off the floor. "I'm as optimistic about this as I was about the budget," Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) told reporters as the House started debating the 1,200-plus page measure, adding that some media reports had written him off for winning the votes on the fiscal 2010 budget resolution. Go to story #1

With House debate going down to the wire on a sweeping climate and energy bill, leading multinational corporations are turning to the Senate in the hopes of softening or eliminating stiff new trade measures that would target China and India. Go to story #2