Mark Memmott

Lisa Jackson, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, is stepping down.

The Associated Press reports that:

American consumers aren't feeling quite as confident this month as they were in November.

The widely watched Consumer Confidence Index from the private Conference Board declined to 65.1 in December from 71.5 the month before. It also fell slightly in November from October.

(Note at 7 a.m. ET, Dec. 28: Lehane's Facebook page continues to post updates — and as of now, Tessa remains missing.)

Our original post:

Mystery writer Dennis Lehane is asking for help in solving a case that's very important to him:

Good morning.

Our early headlines:

-- Wintry Weather Blasting Northeast On Its Way Out.

-- Elder President Bush In Intensive Care.

There were 350,000 first-time claims for unemployment benefits last week, down 12,000 from the week before, the Employment and Training Administration reports. That's the lowest level since early March 2008.

The agency adds that "the 4-week moving average," which tends to smooth out some of the volatility that comes with the weekly figures, "was 356,750, a decrease of 11,250 from the previous week's revised average of 368,000."

Saying that he does not see "any reasons why I should not sign it," Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated today that he will approve legislation to bar Americans from adopting Russian children.

Though he is reportedly alert and enjoying a "running banter" with his nurses, former President George H.W. Bush is in the intensive care unit at Houston's Methodist Hospital.

The Houston Chronicle writes that "Jim McGrath, Bush's spokesman in Houston, said the 88-year-old's fever rose on Wednesday, but doctors at Methodist Hospital report he is doing better than the day before. He was admitted to the ICU on Sunday."

Update at 12:25 p.m. ET. More Deaths Reported:

The death toll from this week's massive winter storm that barreled across the nation from the West Coast and is now over New England has risen to at least 15, according to The Associated Press.

Among the latest fatalities to be reported: "A man and a woman in Evansville, Ind., were killed when the scooter they were riding went out of control on a snowy street Wednesday and they were hit by a pickup truck."

Our original post, from 7 a.m. ET:

President Obama is "cutting short" a vacation that he'd already said he would cut short. "See you next week," he told reporters last week before leaving for Hawaii. The president is now due back at the White House on Thursday, which is pretty much what was expected. His family will stay in Hawaii until after the New Year.

Senators are also coming back to Washington, but many aren't likely to get to the Capitol until Thursday evening.

The website of New York's Journal News newspapers has posted an interactive map showing the names and addresses of people with licenses to own handguns in three counties just to the north of New York City — Westchester, Rockland and Putnam.