Republicans start new Congress bruised, divided
WASHINGTON - In the wake of bruising fights in their own ranks over the "fiscal cliff" and aid for victims of superstorm Sandy, Republicans in the House of Representatives open a new Congress more divided than ever. Full Article
U.S. drone strike kills important Taliban commander: sources
WANA, Pakistan - A U.S. drone strike killed a Taliban commander, his deputy and eight others in northwest Pakistan, intelligence sources and tribal leaders said Thursday, weeks after he was wounded in a bomb attack believed to have been launched by Taliban rivals.
CIA links to "Zero Dark Thirty" examined
WASHINGTON - After denouncing scenes that implied torture of CIA detainees led to a breakthrough in the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the Senate Intelligence Committee has begun a review of contacts between the film's creators and CIA officials. Full Article
Syria death toll rises to "truly shocking" 60,000
AMMAN/GENEVA - More than 60,000 people have died in Syria's uprising and civil war, the United Nations said, dramatically raising the death toll in a struggle that shows no sign of ending. Full Article
Newtown students face first day at new school
MONROE, Connecticut - Many of the children who escaped last month's massacre at a Connecticut elementary school got their first glimpse of their new school, which thousands from around the world have helped to decorate as a "Winter Wonderland." Full Article
Runaway Alaska rig dragged tugboats for miles
LONDON - The runaway oil rig that ran aground in Alaska on New Year's Eve dragged the two vessels trying to control it more than 10 miles towards shore in just over an hour before the crews cut it loose to save themselves in "near hurricane" conditions. Full Article
State Department: Hillary Clinton discharged from NY hospital
Jan. 2 - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was discharged from a New York-Presbyterian hospital where she had been receiving treatment for a blood clot. Sarah Irwin reports.
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The fiscal cliff deal proves Congress is working
The United States may now have, for the first time since 2009, a legislature capable of creating bipartisan majorities of pragmatic Republicans and Democrats working together on issues of fundamental importance to American voters. Commentary
Let’s not go crazy over publishing gun lists
A Westchester newspaper infuriated gun owners by publishing a list and map of thousands of registered handgun owners in its area. They claim that their privacy has been violated. But by its very definition, the public record is not private. Commentary
The world’s most powerful people
We defined 'powerful' as a measure of an individual's ability to singlehandedly bring about change that significantly affects the lives and fortunes of large numbers of people. The list includes Putin, Merkel, and Lagarde. Commentary
The high cost of hating government
For many of the Republican Party’s Tea Party insurgents, there is a fundamental choice: whether there should be a government at all. Their unbending position, demanding an ever-diminishing role for the federal government, has levied an enormous unnecessary cost on everyone else. Commentary
The world at work
“The Family of Man”, a 1955 photography exhibit, spawned a best-selling book. The pictures of work are dated and misleading, but still bring out the timeless universality of the human condition. It’s a sobering theme for economists, who place too many hopes on technical progress. Commentary
How far can the Chinese firewall stretch?
After smart reporting from Bloomberg and the New York Times about China's increasing efforts to limit stories about its crony capitalism, we're in need of more stories. How serious is China willing to be about limiting information, and how serious is it already? Commentary
Air attack on Syrian fuel station
A government air strike turned a petrol station into an inferno Wednesday, killing dozens in a rebellious Damascus suburb. Video