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After meeting with leaders from India, China and elsewhere, President Obama has decided to change the timing of his appearance at the United Nations climate conference to take place in Copenhagen, Denmark later this month.

The president was scheduled to appear at the climate change summit on Dec. 9, ahead of his trip to Oslo, Norway to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. The summit takes place from Dec. 7 through Dec. 18. Mr. Obama will now attend the end of the conference.

"Based on his conversations with other leaders and the progress that has already been made to give momentum to negotiations, the President believes that continued U.S. leadership can be most productive through his participation at the end of the Copenhagen conference on December 18th rather than on December 9th," the White House said in a statement. "There are still outstanding issues that must be negotiated for an agreement to be reached, but this decision reflects the President's commitment to doing all that he can to pursue a positive outcome."

The United States will have representation in Copenhagen throughout the negotiating process by State Department negotiators and Cabinet officials, the White House said. The officials will highlight ways the U.S. has moved toward a clean energy economy. The House of Representatives passed a climate bill in the summer, but the legislation has stalled in the Senate.

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Officials say President Obama will put forward a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States in the range of 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 during the Copenhagen Climate Talks in December.

They say this reflects Mr. Obama's broader commitment to reduce emissions by 83 percent by 2050 in interim steps as follows:

• 30 percent below 2005 levels in 2025
• 42 percent below 2005 levels in 2030

These numbers are similar to the bills pending in both House and Senate.

White House climate change adviser Carol Browner says the Congressional Budget Office has scored the economic impact of these reductions at $173 a year per family of four in 2020.

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Mark Knoller is a CBS News White House correspondent. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here. You can also follow him on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/markknoller.

CBS News has confirmed that President Obama will attend the United Nations climate change summit next month in Copenhagen, according to senior administration officials.

Mr. Obama will be in Denmark on December 9 for the summit, which is expected to have at least 65 world leaders, according to the Associated Press. It was unknown until now whether Mr. Obama would attend the meeting, which is designed to create a new global treaty on climate change.

The president's visit to Copenhagen comes just before he heads to Oslo, Norway, to accept the Nobel Peace Prize the following day.

Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** Overcoming abortion and other issues...

** Balancing conflicting obligations in Afghanistan...

** The climate bill advances...

HEALTH CARE: President Obama is keeping a low profile today and has postponed until Saturday his high-profile visit to Capitol Hill to meet with House Democrats before their vote on health care reform. But just because the president isn't swinging by the Hill today doesn't mean the folks on there aren't busy, especially as House Democratic leaders continue working to rustle up the needed 218 votes for passage.

Washington Post's Shailagh Murray and Lori Montgomery, "House Democratic leaders were struggling Thursday to contain uprisings on the hot-button issues of abortion and immigration that have left them little margin for error as they attempt to push through a massive health-care reform bill this weekend.

"Although confident of victory, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and other Democratic leaders were working to limit defections to the roughly 25 Democrats viewed as 'hard no' votes. There will be 258 Democrats in the House by the time the vote takes place, but to secure the 218 votes needed for passage -- and with prospects dim for Republican converts -- Pelosi can afford to lose no more than 40 members of her caucus. President Obama had been slated to head to the Hill on Friday to push wavering Democrats to get behind the measure, but he called off the trip after Thursday's shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Tex."

New York Times' Carl Hulse and David M. Herszenhorn," Some Democrats from more conservative districts, like Representative Ike Skelton of Missouri, Representative Dan Boren of Oklahoma, Representative Jim Marshall of Georgia and Representative Bobby Bright of Alabama, made it clear they would oppose the measure…

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is suing the Yes Men, activist group that fooled several media outlets into reporting that the chamber had changed its position on climate change legislation. Meanwhile, pressure continues to mount against the business lobbying group for its opposition to the legislation.

The chamber filed a civil complaint this week against the Yes Men to protect its trademark and other intellectual property from unlawful use.

The activists, aiming to bring attention to the chamber's opposition to the climate bill, last week managed to dupe the media with a fake press release with the chamber's logo announcing the business group had it changed its position on the legislation and was also supporting the adoption of a carbon tax. The Yes Men also managed to lure reporters to a press conference at the National Press club where, standing at a podium adorned with the chamber's logo, a member of the activist group pretended to be a representative of the chamber.

"The defendants are not merry pranksters tweaking the establishment," said Steven Law, general counsel for the chamber, according to the Associated Press. "Instead, they deliberately broke the law in order to further commercial interest in their books, movies and other merchandise."

The Yes Men's Andy Bichlbaum told MarketWatch that the stunt was designed to call attention to the Chamber's opposition to the climate bill. He said he welcomed legal action from the business group for using its logo because "it would bring even more attention to the issue."

The chamber's opposition to climate change legislation has compelled some utility companies, as well as other businesses like Apple, to leave the group. The environmental organization Greenpeace is now asking other technology companies, including Google, Microsoft and IBM, to follow Apple's lead.

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Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** Corzine takes the lead after spending millions on his reelection campaign...

** Protecting population centers in Afghanistan...

** The Senate takes on climate change...

PRESIDENT OBAMA TODAY: This morning, President Obama will speak at a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony in honor of former Sen. Edward Brooke, R-Mass., at the U.S. Capitol.

Later, Mr. Obama and Vice President Biden will have lunch at the White House before meeting with the co-chairmen of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board and the senior leadership of the intelligence community.

This afternoon, the president signs the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2010 in the Rose Garden. During his remarks, he'll talk about cutting wasteful government spending.

"As Commander-in-Chief, I will always do whatever it takes to defend the American people... But I have always rejected the notion that we have to waste billions of taxpayer dollars to keep this nation secure," he'll say according to excerpts released by the White House. "In fact, wasting these dollars makes us less secure. And that’s why we have passed a defense bill that eliminates some of the waste and inefficiency in our defense process – reforms that will better protect our nation, better protect our troops, and save taxpayers tens of billions of dollars.

"This bill isn’t perfect," he continues. "There is still more waste we need to cut. There are still more fights we need to win. And Secretary Gates and I will continue waging those battles in the months and years ahead. But today we have proved that change is possible. It may not come quickly or all at once, but if you push hard enough, it does come."

Tonight, Mr. Obama will attend a commemorative tree planting on the North Portico of the White House. The president also will host a reception commemorating the enactment of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

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President Obama on Friday called for the passage of comprehensive climate change legislation, in order to make renewable energy profitable in America and jumpstart the development of cutting-edge clean energy technologies within the U.S.

"Nations everywhere are racing to develop new ways of producing and using energy," the president said at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "The nation that wins this competition will be the nation that leads the global economy. And I want America to be that nation."

Earlier in the day, the president toured a MIT research laboratory working on solar, battery and wind technology, among other things.

The research going on there, he said, is a "reminder that all of you are heirs to a legacy of innovation – not just here but across America – that has improved our health and wellbeing and helped us achieve unparalleled prosperity."

Innovators today face greater challenges than in the past, Mr. Obama said. For instance, he said, "the system of energy that powers our economy also undermines our security and endangers our planet."

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Reuters, Fox Business Network, CNBC and other media outlets were tricked Monday into falsely reporting that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the business lobbying group, had shifted its position and was now supporting the climate change legislation being debated in Congress.

An activist group known as the Yes Men – which recently put out a fake version of the New York Post proclaiming "WE'RE SCREWED" – sent a fake press release, complete with Chamber of Commerce logo, to reporters this morning. The release was quickly picked up by the Reuters wire service, which released a story proclaiming that the Chamber had dropped its opposition to the legislation and was calling for the inclusion of a carbon tax within it.

The story, which you can see here, included a quote from someone identified as a spokesman for the Chamber, Hingo Sembra. Someone calling himself Sembra held a press conference at the National Press Club today to trumpet the ostensible shift in policy. The event included "fake handouts on chamber letterhead, at least a couple of fake reporters, and a podium adorned with the chamber logo," the Washington Post reports. Several reporters -- as well as, presumably, the National Press club -- were reportedly unaware that the event was a hoax.

The press conference began normally but dissolved into a surreal scene when a legitimate Chamber official burst into the event, having heard about it from a reporter, and exclaimed that "Sembra" was a phony. The activist holding the press conference then called the Chamber official, Eric Wohlschlegel, a fake and demanded his business card.

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Religious groups are stepping up their lobbying efforts in support of climate change legislation, focusing on a goal all of their flock can agree on: helping the poor and vulnerable impacted by global warming.

A number of Jewish and Christian groups are choosing to bypass climate issues that are contentious within the faith community, such as whether global warming is man-made, and are instead zeroing in on proposals in Congress to provide international aid for people impacted by the negative effects of climate change.

The push for "international adaptation aid" is also part of a broader awareness effort launching today called "Day Six," which aims to make the public and members of Congress more conscious of the moral imperative to pass legislation regulating carbon emissions.

"On the sixth day God created us, and he made us stewards of his creation," Katie Paris, the communications director for the group Faith in Public Life, said Thursday on a conference call with reporters. She also explained why religious groups are focused on international adaptation aid: "Those who are hurt most and worst should not be helped the least and last," she said.

Groups involved in the "Day Six" campaign are directly reaching out to hundreds of thousands of people in the faith community today with tools to build grassroots support for climate change legislation.

The campaign features a Web site with a 60-second video pressing the issue, social networking tools and an online petition to Senators, urging support for climate legislation with adequate funding for international adaptation programs.

The House of Representatives in June passed a climate change bill that allocates 1 percent of its funding for international adaptation funding, which amounts to approximately $500 to $700 million, said Reverend Jim Ball, senior director of the climate campaign for the Evangelical Environmental Network.

Ball called that "woefully inadequate," citing reports from the World Bank that the annual cost of adapting to climate change in developing economies could reach between $75 billion and $100 billion over the next 40 years.

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Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** A setback for liberals in the health care debate …

** The Obama team takes on challenges in Afghanistan and Iran …

**The Senate readies its climate change legislation …

PRESIDENT OBAMA TODAY: The president heads to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., where he'll announce $5 billion in economic stimulus funds for the NIH to create jobs and support research for cancer and other diseases, reports the Associated Press.

The money comes from the $787 billion economic stimulus program that is designed to help create jobs and turn around the economy. Jared Bernstein, who is Vice President Joe Biden's chief economist, says the $5 billion will support some 12,000 existing projects and create thousands of jobs over the next two years for researchers and educators, as well as medical equipment makers and suppliers.

Mr. Obama will be joined by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

It wouldn't be a surprise if he also touched on the tsunami in the Samoas, which has left at least 99 dead.

The president has already declared a major disaster for American Samoa, a U.S. territory, and early this morning, he put out a written statement:

"Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in the earthquake and tsunami in American Samoa and the region. I am closely monitoring these tragic events, and have declared a major disaster for American Samoa, which will provide the tools necessary for a full, swift and aggressive response. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is in close and constant contact with emergency responders, and the U.S. Coast Guard is fully supporting the deployment of resources to those areas in need of immediate assistance. We also stand ready to help our friends in Samoa and the region. Going forward, we will continue to provide the resources necessary to respond to this catastrophe, and we will keep those who have lost so much in our thoughts and prayers."

This afternoon, Mr. Obama has a meeting with his national security advisers to discuss the war in Afghanistan. Among those attending the meeting in the White House Situation Room: Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Adm. Mike Mullen, Gen. David Petraeus, CIA Director Leon Panetta, and National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones. Gen. Stanly McChrystal and others will participate by remote video.

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