CNN’s Rick Sanchez shows a clip of the 20 leaders involved in last weekend’s G20 Economic Summit congregating to take a picture. There are handshakes all around, but one dignitary (our lame-duck President) is treated more or less, as Sanchez notes, like a kid with “cooties.” Apparently with only 61 days of international relevance left in his tenure, the other heads of state are dispensing with courtesy, treating their former “bully” as a pariah.

-The California Supreme Court has agreed to review legal challenges to Prop 8. A hearing could come as early as March.

-Google is hosting a searchable database containing more than 250 years of photos archived by LIFE magazine. Many never made it to the pages of the now-defunct mag and are on offer for the first time. (Via Boing Boing)

-File under “life imitating art:” The town of Hamelin in Germany is suffering a rat infestation. According to legend,…

News of the seizure of at least four ships this week by Somali pirates has some scratching their heads. Pirates? Those still exist? They may not have peg legs and eyepatches, but roving bands of fishermen-turned-renegades are patrolling Somali waters, ostensibly as a makeshift coast guard. What’s really going on in the Gulf of Aden? It’s time for Somali Pirates 101.

This year, we’ve learned that nothing is too big to fail. Yes, in dire economic times—and in certain  circumstances—even Wal-Marts can go under. But what happens to the giant, empty buildings the company leaves behind?

They become churches. Or Spam museums. Or go-cart racetracks. Julia Christensen of MIT Press takes Slate on an awesome visual tour of shut-down and re-purposed Wal-Marts in “Big Box Reuse.”

(Photo: The Calvary Chapel of Pinellas, Florida, purchased an abandoned Wal-Mart and…

EPA self-corrects, Big Coal trembles

Last week the Environmental Protection Agency dropped a legal bombshell on Big Coal last week in the unlikely form of a ruling from its Appeals Board. The decision (pdf), which requires that carbon dioxide be recognized as a pollutant in the EPA’s permitting process, will effectively halt the planned construction of at least dozens of new coal plants around the country.

A little background:  The Utah-based Deseret Power Electric Cooperative wanted to…

We may have a new president and vice president, but the supporting roles are still being filled, and they matter a lot. After all, what would the Bush administration have been without Rumsfeld, Chertoff, and Condi? Below, we’ll be tracking the additions to Obama’s team as they become public. Drop us a comment if we’re missing anyone.

Obama’s Cabinet (in order of presidential succession):

Secretary of State: It looks like negotiations and vetting are still underway for Hillary…