Mark Memmott

Good morning.

Our early headlines:

-- Iraqi Leader Says Iran Won't Be Interfering Anymore.

-- Putin Aide Says Vote Results Will Stand.

The news that scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland will talk Tuesday at 8 a.m. ET about "the status of their searches for the Standard Model Higgs boson" has reignited speculation that they might be about to say they've found the so-called God particle.

Family, friends, students, faculty members and government officials will gather today at 2 p.m. ET in Virginia Tech's Cassell Coliseum to remember campus police officer Deriek Crouse.

Saying that "even if you add up all this so-called evidence, it accounts for just over 0.5 percent of the total number of votes," a spokesman for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has told Agence France Presse that the results of last week's parliamentary elections will stand despite public protests over evidence of fraud.

As the last U.S. combat troops prepare to leave Iraq, the question of whether neighboring Iran will try to fill any vacuum looms large.

The last total lunar eclipse of 2011 — and the last one until April 15, 2014 — occurs Saturday morning.

The news that Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas) have decided not to participate in the Dec. 27 Republican presidential debate that businessman/TV personality/self-proclaimed potential independent presidential candidate Donald Trump is supposed to be moderating means just two GOP contenders would be left for the event:

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) and former Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.).

Virginia State Police and other officials briefed reporters this morning about Thursday's shooting on the campus at Virginia Tech, in which a campus police officer was killed and the suspect apparently later shot himself and died. We updated as it happened and put those posts in chronological order after the briefing was over.

Good morning.

Our early headlines:

-- Slain Virginia Tech Officer's Dash Cam Shows Suspected Shooter.

-- U.K. Isolated As Euro Nations Move Ahead On New Pact.

Horrific news from Kolkata, India:

"A basement fire sent flames and smoke coursing through a seven-story Indian hospital Friday, killing 73 people," The Associated Press reports, "and officials accused hospital staff of abandoning many patients to die of suffocation."

There's been movement today in Brussels, where leaders from the European Union nations are trying to save the euro and restore some faith in the financial markets that they can manage the euro zone's debt crisis. But an important division remains among the 27 nations.

The consensus among news outlets covering the story seems to be:

-- "UK Isolated As Europe Moves Ahead On Fiscal Union." (Reuters)

It still isn't known why a man apparently walked up to a campus police officer at Virginia Tech yesterday and fatally shot the 39-year-old father of five. And the identity of the gunman, who authorities believe died of a gunshot wound shortly after the attack, hasn't yet been released.

Virginia Tech has advised everyone on campus to "seek shelter or stay where you are" because of reports about shots being fired there.

It adds that:

"[A] suspect described as white male, gray sweat pants, gray hat w/neon green brim, maroon hoodie and backback" was seen "on foot towards McComas" — the university's athletics facility.

Republican presidential candidates have said President Obama practices "appeasement" when it comes to foreign policy.

At the White House a short time ago, the president had this response:

"Ask Osama bin Laden and the 22 out of 30 top al-Qaida leaders who've been taken off the field whether I engage in appeasement. Or whoever's left out there. Ask them about that."

A vote to move forward on the nomination of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to run the new federal consumer protection agency fell seven votes short in the Senate this morning. Republicans banded together to make sure there weren't the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture and move on to a vote on the nomination itself.

USA Today, ESPN, The St.

Pusuke, a Shiba mix who last year was recognized by Guinness World Records as the planet's oldest dog, has died.

He was 26 years, eight months old. Or, about 125 in "human years," according to his owner.

Less than two years after India's Sachin Tendulkar achieved cricket superstardom by recording a "double century" in an international match, his record has been broken.

Here's how the BBC reports the news:

"India opener Virender Sehwag has hit the record one-day international score after smashing 219 from 149 balls against West Indies in Indore."

Good morning.

Our early headlines:

-- Report: Hundreds Of Troops' Ashes Were Dumped In Landfill.

-- Corzine Apologizes, Defends Actions Of MF Global, May Invoke Fifth