Washington in 60 Seconds: Dick Cheney, Cap-and-Trade and Congress Phoning It In

Good morning, Capitolists! It's slim pickings on the D.C. schedule today, but we've still got enough for curious Capitolists to entertain themselves for the next 60 seconds. Here's what's making news in Washington today:

* The president holds briefings with staff throughout the day.

* Disturbed by images of senators being threatened to eternal damnation over health care reform, some members of Congress are dialing it in, literally, with "tele-townhalls." Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) tells The New York Times, "I'm think it's going to catch on." So does the Capitolist.

* Secretary of State Hillary Clinton goes to Monrovia, Liberia, to meet with President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the American-educated leader of the nation.

* Dick Cheney's talking to old friends and associates as he writes his memoirs, and according one of those people who talked to The Washington Post, President Bush "showed an independence that Cheney didn't see coming."

* The climate experts who came up with the idea of cap-and-trade decades ago now aren't so sure it's the best way to reduce emissions. (Wall Street Journal)

* The only man convicted in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing could be released by Scottish officials. The Times of London reports that Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, who received a life sentence, was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer and asked for a compassionate release, which could come as soon as this weekend.