18+DEC

 **** __Obama Has Goal to Wrest a Deal in Climate Talks__ **** By JOHN M. BRODER and ELISABETH ROSENTHAL The world is looking to the president to wrest some credible success from climate negotiations, and there were some signs that a meaningful political deal might be at hand.

**** __Nearing New Arms Pact, U.S. and Russia Look Beyond It__ **** By PETER BAKER After the U.S. and Russia finalize a new arms pact, they plan to send negotiators back to the table to pursue an agreement tackling whole categories of nuclear weapons never before subject to limits.

****WAR WITHOUT BORDERS**** **** __Hired by Customs, but Working for the Cartels__ **** By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD The authorities say Mexican drug traffickers, facing heightened border security, have stepped up efforts to corrupt border agents. **** __At Japanese Cliffs, a Campaign to Combat Suicide__ **** By MARTIN FACKLER A retired policeman has devoted the last five years on a mission to stop people drawn to the towering cliffs of Tojimbo, Japan, to commit suicide.

**** __Mexico Deals a Blow to a Cartel but Warns of Continued Drug-Related Violence__ **** By ELISABETH MALKIN Arturo Beltrán Leyva, one of Mexico’s three most wanted drug kingpins, was killed Wednesday in an assault on his apartment.

**** __Muslims Say F.B.I. Tactics Sow Anger and Fear__ **** By PAUL VITELLO and KIRK SEMPLE Since 2001, the F.B.I. and Muslim leaders have tried to build a relationship of trust, but those relations have reached a new low point, Muslim leaders say. **** __Estate Tax Is Expiring, but Death Won’t Last__ **** By CARL HULSE With lawmakers unable to agree on a year-end fix for a quirk in the Bush-era tax cuts, the federal estate tax is set to be repealed for one year as of Jan. 1.

**** __Death Sentences Dropped, but Executions Rose in ’09__ **** By JOHN SCHWARTZ A report by the Death Penalty Information Center projected 106 death sentences in the United States for this year, down two-thirds from a peak of 328 in 1994.

**** __Dec. 31 Is a Big Day for Online Charity__ **** By STEPHANIE STROM Last New Year’s Eve, donors made 13.2 times the number of gifts and gave 22.5 times more than they had on any other day in 2008, data show. **** __Questions on Security Mar Foreign Investments__ **** By ERIC LIPTON Foreign investors’ moves to buy U.S. industrial assets are getting a wary reaction from the Obama administration.

**** __A Break at the Gas Pump__ **** By CLIFFORD KRAUSS and JAD MOUAWAD Retailers might be emboldened by the recent trend in gas prices, but the numbers are much higher than a year ago and experts disagree about where prices are heading.

**** __At Bank of America, a Chief Steps in Where Few Can__ **** By LOUISE STORY Bank of America’s new chief, Brian Moynihan, in many ways has had a career of falling into bigger jobs at the bank when executives were fired or shunted aside.