David Gregory will not be prosecuted  —  Just released by D.C. Attorney General there will be no prosecution of David Gregory despite a finding that there was a clear violation of the law (emphasis mine): … D.C. Attorney General Letter Declining to Prosecute David Gregory

Dems urge Obama to raise debt limit without Congress, if necessary  —  Senate Democratic leaders urged President Barack Obama to act to increase the nation's debt limit, even without congressional approval, in order to avoid a standoff with Republicans over the nation's borrowing authority.

Lautenberg Has Decided Not to Run Again: Sources  —  The news comes the same week that Newark Mayor Cory Booker has filed papers allowing him to raise money for a U.S. Senate run in New Jersey.  News 4 s Brian Thompson spoke exclusively with Mayor Booker about that decision.

Aaron Swartz commits suicide  —  Computer activist Aaron H. Swartz committed suicide in New York City yesterday, Jan. 11, according to his uncle, Michael Wolf, in a comment to The Tech.  Swartz was 26.  —  “The tragic and heartbreaking information you received is, regrettably, true,” …

Major report warns climate change could raise temperatures by 10 degrees  —  The third National Climate Assessment, released Friday, said there's “unambiguous evidence” that earth is warming, and that climate change over the past 50 years is driven primarily by human activity, especially from burning fossil fuels.

Americans feel austerity's bite as payroll taxes rise  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans are beginning to feel the pinch from Washington's decision to embrace austerity measures aimed at bringing down the nation's budget deficit.  —  Paychecks across the country have shrunk over the last week due …

Makers of Violent Video Games Marshal Support to Fend Off Regulation  —  WASHINGTON — With the Newtown, Conn., massacre spurring concern over violent video games, makers of popular games like Call of Duty and Mortal Kombat are rallying Congressional support to try to fend off their biggest regulatory threat in two decades.

Biden: ‘No silver bullet’ to stop gun violence  —  The vice president downplayed harsh criticism the National Rifle Association has made about the administration's gun violence task force.  —  Vice President Biden said Friday that his task force on gun violence recognized there was …

Patti Davis rips ‘1600 Penn’ ‘stupidity’  —  “1600 Penn” - NBC's new sitcom about a dysfunctional First Family - gets a thumbs-down from Patti Davis, who was there for eight years when her father Ronald Reagan was president.  —  Davis — who tried to sell a similar TV show last year titled …

MSNBC Hosts In ‘Really Deep’ Segment On Need To Call Him ‘President Barack Obama’ In Every Single Reference  —  On Friday, MSNBC's The Cycle investigated the outrage directed at cohost Steve Kornacki, as well as other journalists, for referring to President Barack Obama simply as “Obama” after the first reference.

Supreme Court to consider if silence can be evidence of guilt  —  (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider whether a suspect's refusal to answer police questions prior to being arrested and read his rights can be introduced as evidence of guilt at his subsequent murder trial.

DREAM Activist's Family Arrested After Home Raided By ICE  —  Erika Andiola, a young undocumented immigrant and activist, may be free from the threat of raids and deportation, but her family is another story.  —  On Thursday night, Andiola's home in Arizona was raided by Immigrations …

Gun Appreciation Day Leader: If Blacks Had Guns, They Would Not Have Been Slaves  —  Larry Ward, chairman of the national Gun Appreciation Day gun rights advocates have planned for the weekend of President Obama's second inauguration, told CNN Friday that there never would have been slaves in America if black people had guns.

French Troops Help Mali Halt an Islamist Advance  —  BAMAKO, Mali — The international standoff with Islamists controlling northern Mali took a decisive turn on Friday, as French forces engaged in an intense battle to beat back an aggressive militant push into the center of the country.

Obama Promises Faster Transition in Afghanistan  —  President Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai said today that most U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan would end this spring, signaling a quickening troop drawdown that will bring the decade-long war to a close at the end of 2014.