Reid says jobless aid vote coming Monday  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told The Associated Press in an interview that the Senate will vote Monday on a three-month extension of federal unemployment benefits.  —  Calling the House a “black hole of legislation,” …

ObamaCare birth control mandate halted for Catholic group  —  Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor late Tuesday halted a birth control mandate in ObamaCare for a Catholic group, one day before parts of the health care law are set to go into effect.  —  In her order, Sotomayor said the government …

Rescue Efforts for Trapped Antarctic Voyage Disrupt Serious Science  —  Early this morning, I received an e-mail message from one of many polar scientists whose important and costly field research in Antarctica has been seriously disrupted by the diversion of icebreakers to try to evacuate the journalists …

What your favorite drink says about your politics, in one chart  —  Former Mississippi governor and uber-Republican Haley Barbour loves bourbon.  Franklin Roosevelt mixed martinis.  And, as it turns out, those two partisans have something in common with their base voters …

Pot Shops in Denver Open Door to $578 Million in Sales  —  Toni Fox plans to open the doors of her Denver marijuana shop at 8 a.m. tomorrow to a line of customers including some who camped overnight to be the first in the U.S. to legally buy pot for recreational use.

MSNBC Panel Was Mocking Republicans, Not Mitt Romney's Black Grandchild  —  Melissa Harris-Perry is apologizing for something that she didn't do wrong.  A photo of the Romney family with a black baby on Mitt's knee was the subject of a panel discussion on Perry's MSNBC show.  But no one was slighting the baby.

Former first lady Barbara Bush hospitalized  —  (CNN) — Former first lady Barbara Bush has been hospitalized in Houston, Texas, for treatment of a “respiratory-related issue,” a family spokesman said Tuesday.  —  Bush, 88, was admitted Monday at Methodist Hospital, spokesman Jim McGrath said in a written statement.

Kerry to Press for ‘Framework’ Accord to Keep Mideast Peace Effort Moving  —  WASHINGTON — In an intensifying diplomatic effort, Secretary of State John Kerry is making a major push to secure what Obama administration officials are calling a “framework” accord that would be a critical …

Kim Jong-un's Lonely Ski Lift Ride at Dream Resort  —  After pushing for his dream ski resort, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un finally rode the lift at Masik Pass Ski Resort, which only took one year to build from scratch.  Sanctions didn't stop him from that ride.

Utah asks Supreme Court to block same-sex unions  —  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah took its fight against gay marriage to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, asking the high court to suspend same-sex unions that became legal when a judge struck down the state's voter-approved ban.

10,988,269: 2013 Closes With Record Number on Disability Getting Highest-Ever Monthly Benefits  —  (CNSNews.com) - The total number of people in the United States now receiving federal disability benefits hit a record 10,988,269 in December, up from the previous record of 10,982,920 set in November …

Al Qaeda Opens Syrian Jihad School  —  Jabhat Al Nusra, an Islamist group affiliated with Al Qaeda, maintains an infrastructure of governance as one of the central opposition forces.  Aside from managing religious courts based on Islamic sharia law, the group has opened new schooling programs emphasizing Islam and jihad.

Judge Orders ‘Compassionate Release’ Of Jailed Former Civil Rights Lawyer  —  NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -A federal judge in Manhattan ordered a “compassionate release” Tuesday from prison for a dying former civil rights lawyer.  —  The U.S. government requested the release earlier …