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• 1. U.S. TO SEND MISSILES, TROOPS TO TURKEY
• The Pentagon says it will send Patriot air defense missiles and 400 troops to Turkey as part of a NATO force meant to protect Turkish territory from potential Syrian missile attack.

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• 2. KERRY NOW FRONT-RUNNER FOR TOP DIPLOMATIC POST
• The Democratic senator vaults to the head of Obama's short list of secretary of state candidates after U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice suddenly withdrew from consideration.
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• 3. NEGOTIATIONS CENTER ON MORE MODEST "CLIFF" DEAL
• The White House and congressional negotiators eye a deal to extend current tax rates for most Americans, raise rates for top earners but leave other, vexing issues for the new year.

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• 4. RUSSIA ROLLS BACK ASSESSMENT ON SYRIA
• A day after a senior Russian official was widely quoted as saying Assad was losing control, Russia's Foreign Ministry insists Moscow's stance on the crisis hasn't shifted.
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• 5. HOW AMERICANS VIEW CLIMATE CHANGE
• About 4 out of 5 now think temperatures are rising and that global warming will be a serious problem for the United States if nothing is done about it, a new Associated Press-GfK poll finds.
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• 6. JENNI RIVERA'S PLANE UNDER INVESTIGATION
• The company that owns a luxury jet that crashed and killed the Mexican pop superstar had two planes seized by federal drug enforcement agents this year.
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• 7. KIM RISES IN NORTH KOREA
• A gamble by North Korea's young leader pays off, at least in the short term, projecting Kim Jong Un to his people as powerful, capable and determined.
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• 8. THIS HOOPSTER CREATES A STIR, BUT NOT HOW YOU MIGHT THINK
• Gabrielle Ludwig, 50, became the first transsexual to play intercollegiate basketball as both a man and a woman when she suited up for the Lady Saints at Mission College in Santa Clara, Calif.

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