From this morning's Earlybird:

• "Despite apparent tensions in the House's two-tiered ethics process -- notably, recent spats between the ethics committee and an outside review office -- House officials and ethics observers say a formal evaluation of the system is unlikely anytime soon," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "In recent weeks, both the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, as the ethics panel is officially known, and the Office of Congressional Ethics have feuded publicly over process issues -- from how to calculate deadlines to the interpretation of House rules -- suggesting friction in the reformed ethics process lawmakers approved less than two years ago."

• "After contentious Senate committee action on climate change legislation last week, industry and environmental interests are focusing on a select group of Senators who are trying to forge consensus on the heated issue," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "Much of the attention will be aimed at Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.), who are seeking common ground between those who want to curb greenhouse gas emissions and others who fret about the economic consequences."

• "Northrop Grumman, the third-largest U.S. defense contractor, agreed to sell a government-consulting unit to a group of investors led by General Atlantic and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts affiliates for $1.65 billion," the Washington Post reports. "The sale of TASC, to comply with new rules designed to prevent conflicts of interest, will generate about $1.1 billion in cash after taxes, Northrop said Sunday in a statement. The deal requires regulatory approval, and Northrop said it may be completed by the end of the year."