House to Vote on Budget Deal. The House is expected to vote Thursday on a two-year deal that would represent the first bipartisan budget compromise of the new divided-government era. GOP leaders expect their measure will pass, despite complaints from House Democrats that it includes a fix to prevent a cut in doctor payments but does not extend federal unemployment benefits set to expire this month. The Hill

Study Finds Bird Declines in Mountains of Finland, Sweden, Norway. Bird populations in the mountains of Finland, Sweden and Norway are declining, a trend associated with changing weather transforming northern forests, a newly released study says. The study, conducted by scientists in the three countries and published online on Dec. 2 by the Journal of Avian Biology, said nine of 14 common bird species in the Fennoscandia mountain range of northern Europe showed significant declines from 2002 to 2012. "As these declines were synchronous in all three countries and occurred both in tundra and birch forest, one may suspect that they were driven by the same large-scale phenomena," the study says. Alaska Dispatch

Fairbanks Forum Seeks Solutions to Mental Health Failings. There was a steady theme at Wednesday night's forum on Interior mental health issues: The current system is a mess. More than 100 health-care professionals, clients and elected officials packed the Fairbanks North Star Borough assembly chambers, looking for solutions to a system they say is failing one of the area's most vulnerable populations. Overwhelming bureaucracy, inadequate housing and a lack of funding are among the issues that have left many patients without care, speakers said. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Russia Won't Give Away North Pole - Official. Russia will not give the North Pole to countries, which have claimed their rights to it, polar explorer, Federation Council member Artur Chilingarov said. "We will not give the North Pole to anyone. Canada's claims for the North Pole are nothing but an ambition," he said at a Tula meeting dedicated to the Constitution Day on Thursday. Russia Beyond the Headlines

For Fun: Senate Debate: Is Santa Claus an American Citizen? Is Santa Claus an American citizen? That question came up during a hearing Wednesday at the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, as Sen. Robert Menendez quizzed Bruce Heyman on his nomination to serve as U.S. ambassador to Canada. Washington Times

Frequency of Arctic Cyclones 40 Percent Higher Than Predicted Earlier. Analysts have recorded more ice-dissolving twisters than they were anticipating earlier by 40 percent extra. About 40 percent higher numbers have been observed than analysts formerly suspected it might be. A significant number of the twisters have been disregarded in the past due to their little estimate or brief time. Top News

Alaska Arctic Policy Commission Wraps Up Two Days of Work Session and Public Testimony. The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) wrapped up two days of meetings, work sessions and public testimony in Anchorage at the Dena'ina Center yesterday.  Members focused on policy recommendations and priorities for a preliminary report due to the Legislature on January 30th, 2014.  The recommendations were made in areas such as energy, infrastructure, governance, science and research, fish and wildlife, oil spill response operations, national security and marine transportation. SitNews

Why the Atlantic, Not the Pacific May Dominate the 21st Century. In recent years, much of the foreign policy debate in Washington and European capitals has focused on the rise of China and the growing importance of the Asia-Pacific region. Fewer have paid attention to another, perhaps equally important trend: the rise of 'the Atlantic area' as globalization's new center of gravity. At the other end of the Atlantic -- in the 'High North' -- trade and economic resources have already attracted global attention from emerging powers such as China. The Arctic holds huge reserves of undiscovered oil and gas -- not to mention other mineral resources. Moreover, the trans-Arctic shipping routes offer economic and strategic advantages by cutting distances and offering savings in fuel costs. Connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific, Arctic routes will also allow ships to bypass the congested, and sometimes contended, Hormuz and Malacca straits. For China, the northern route between Shanghai and Hamburg is 1,200 miles shorter and 35 percent cheaper than the Suez route. Huffington Post