Democrats Trying to Solve Two Political Problems at Once?

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Trading Spaces?

New York Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel is trying to hang on as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee despite several ethics investigations and efforts to oust him.

And New York Governor David Paterson is resisting efforts by Democrats, reportedly including the White House, to get him to step aside for what some believe would be a stronger gubernatorial candidate.

Now a New York TV station reports some Democrats have devised a clever plan to solve both problems simultaneously. Sources say the idea calls for Rangel to resign and then replace him with Paterson, giving him a dignified way to leave state politics while also taking him out of the running for governor.

Leaking Out?

A British Defense Ministry document giving advice on how to stop documents from leaking onto the Internet has been leaked onto the Internet.

The British press reports the manual, which is intended to help intelligence personnel in the face of hackers, journalists and foreign spies, has been posted on the Web site, Wikileaks.

It reads: "The threat of leakage is less likely to arise from positive acts of counter-espionage, than from leakage of information through disaffected members of staff... or simply by accident or carelessness."

Making Waves

Some folks here in the U.S. go to great lengths over climate change, but on the tiny Indian Ocean nation known as the Maldives, government ministers are going to even greater depths -- literally.

Cabinet members took scuba diving lessons last weekend ahead of a Cabinet meeting next week to be held underwater to highlight the threat of global warming and rising sea levels.

Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed says: "The Cabinet will don wet suits and scuba equipment and dive to a depth of six meters, about 20 feet... then ratify a pledge calling on other nations to slash greenhouse gas emissions."

Members will use whiteboards and hand signals to communicate.

Bottle-Shock

Pennsylvania's deputy state labor secretary was found guilty Friday of an auto accident while driving under the influence. But Allen Cwalina insists he was sober last November when he struck a parked car early one morning.

He testified that he only began drinking after the crash to help a toothache. He admitted he downed at least three beers and two glasses of whiskey before the cops arrived, items he supposedly had at the ready just in case of a sudden toothache.

— FOX News Channel's Zachary Kenworthy contributed to this report.