Wall St. Journal:  “A key Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives said he believes the estate tax will be repealed as scheduled Jan. 1, as House and Senate negotiators tried to strike a deal on a two-month extension to block repeal of the tax.  Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D., N.D.) said plans to include a temporary extension of the estate tax in end-of-year defense-spending legislation have been dropped because of Senate opposition.”