Debt debate: No easy path to avoid chaos  —  If you thought the fiscal cliff was bad, just wait for the triple threat.  —  The White House and Congress are facing three critical deadlines — the country hits its debt limit as early as mid-February, $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts …

Harry Reid: The Assault Weapons Ban Is Probably Doomed  —  The Democratically-controlled U.S. Senate will not be a free-for-all of new gun regulations following the shooting at Sandy Hook, according to Majority Leader Harry Reid.  Instead, Senators will focus on passing legislation …

After 2010 campaign, Gov. Rick Scott gave back dog Reagan  —  What happened to Reagan, the Scotts' rescued Labrador?  —  TALLAHASSEE — Shortly after winning the GOP nomination in 2010, Rick Scott announced to the world through Facebook that his family had rescued a Labrador Retriever.

Justice Thomas speaks  —  Wow, slow news day.  On the Supreme Court front, the chatter has been over the sentence Justice Thomas interjected during today's oral argument in Boyer v. Louisiana.  Some of the commentary has devolved into psychoanalysis of the Justice's supposed hostility towards Yale Law School.

Jon Huntsman Can't Stop Talking About The Republican Party  —  The Republican gadfly and No Labels crusader says he's only trying to help.  “I'd say we take about 2 percent of the media requests that come in.  Really.”  —  Jon Huntsman speaks to BuzzFeed staff Monday.  —  Image by Macey Foronda for BuzzFeed

Jodie Foster Stops Lying  —  Full transcript here.  Her date last night, believe it or not, was wife-abusing, homophobic anti-Semite, Mel Gibson.  Would you entrust your young sons to a man with Gibson's violent and vile history?  A highlight of her narcissistic, self-loving speech:

More city co-eds turning to sugar daddies for school support  —  More New York City co-eds are turning to a new source of income — sugar daddies — to cope with the rising cost of their college tuition, surprising statistics released yesterday reveal.  —  And the majority is enrolled …

Armstrong Admits Doping, and Says He Will Testify Against Cycling Officials  —  In an interview with Oprah Winfrey that is scheduled to air on her network on Thursday, Lance Armstrong confessed that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his cycling career, according to two people briefed …

Why Chuck Hagel is the wrong choice to lead the Pentagon  —  The bitter tone of gridlock in Washington has left many Americans hoping for a more collaborative environment to face the country's most pressing challenges.  Changes in the president's Cabinet presented a prime opportunity for coming together.

Palazzo Urges Sandy Relief Opponents To Reverse Their Votes  —  A little more than a week ago, Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-MS) was one of only 67 Republicans to vote against a bill to provide $9.7 billion in relief to victims of Hurricane Sandy that easily passed the House of Representatives.

Colin Powell Calls Out The GOP's Racism Problem: There Is ‘A Dark Vein Of Intolerance’  —  Without mentioning names, Powell singled out former Mitt Romney surrogate and New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu for calling Obama “lazy” and Sarah Palin, who, Powell charged, used slavery-era terms to describe Obama:

Chrysler to build Jeeps in China  —  Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said the automaker plans to build some Jeeps in China for the local market — and later, in Russia.  —  “As part of our global expansion of the Jeep brand, there are some cars — that because of the price position in the market …

Column: Obama owns the debt now  —  The debt is up about 60% since Obama took office.  This can't go on forever. … President Obama, the Democrats, and plenty of Republicans in Congress, would like it if you'd spend the next few weeks talking about gun control.