Senate confirms Yellen at Fed  —  The Senate on Monday voted 56-26 to confirm Janet Yellen as the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve.  —  Eleven Republicans joined Democrats present on Monday in voting to confirm Yellen, who will face more scrutiny than perhaps any central bank leader …

Chicago Ban on Gun Sales Within City Struck Down by Judge  —  A Chicago law prohibiting the sale of guns within the third-most populous U.S. city was struck down as unconstitutional by a federal judge.  —  “Chicago's ordinance goes too far in outright banning legal buyers and legal dealers …

Sasheer Zamata Joins ‘Saturday Night Live’ As New Cast Member  —  EXCLUSIVE: Three years after she graduated from the University of Virginia, Sasheer Zamata is landing a very big break — the young comedy performer has been selected to join Saturday Night Live as a new cast member.

Republicans Really Could Win It All This Year  —  A definitive guide to the 2014 elections from our new columnist. … Another midterm election beckons, and over the next 10 months we'll see headlines about a thousand supposedly critical developments—the “game changers” and the “tipping points.”

Burglars Who Took on F.B.I. Abandon Shadows  —  Stealing J. Edgar Hoover's Secrets: One night in 1971, files were stolen from an F.B.I. office near Philadelphia.  They proved that the bureau was spying on thousands of Americans.  The case was unsolved, until now.

EXCLUSIVE: Republicans set to deliver big statement on abortion  —  Winter meeting to be delayed so members can attend March for Life on the National Mall  —  In an unprecedented show of opposition to abortion, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus is delaying the start …

How global warming can make cold snaps even worse  —  The cold air pushing toward America's heartland is of a duration and magnitude rarely seen since record-keeping began in the 1870s.  In Minneapolis, forecasters warned that all-time wind chill records could be broken, with a stunning -65ºF predicted for Monday morning.

The Smartest Nerd in the Room  —  Why Melissa Harris-Perry is America's foremost public intellectual, and what she means  —  On Saturday, Melissa Harris-Perry apologized on air for segment that made light of the Romney clan's adoption of a young black boy.

CNN Poll: Support for legal marijuana soaring  —  Washington (CNN) - In a major turnaround from past decades, a majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana, according to a new poll.  —  The CNN/ORC International survey released Monday also indicated that the number of people who say smoking pot is morally wrong has plunged.

Breaking: Rep. Gerlach Will Not Seek Reelection  —  PA-6 Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-Chester) will not seek reelection in 2014.  —  “Nearing the end of my sixth term in the House and following 12 years of public service in the Pennsylvania House and Senate, it is simply time for me to move …

NBC's ‘Meet The Press’ hits historic lows in the final quarter of 2013  —  It's no secret that NBC's “Meet The Press” has been in bad shape of late.  Indeed, the show has been on the decline since David Gregory took over in 2008.  But the most recent numbers are especially troubling.

Sorry, Comrade, But You Didn't Just Discover The Secret To Making Communism Work  —  If you're a Millennial who loves bread lines, prison camps, forced famines, and abject human misery, then you'll love the latest offering from Rolling Stone.  Over the weekend, Jesse Myerson …

An interview with former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, the Democrat most likely to challenge Hillary Clinton in 2016.  —  The last time he appeared on a ballot, then-Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer filmed a TV ad that consisted entirely of him shooting clay pigeons.

When a (Partial) Tweet Becomes an Ad, What Are the Rules?  —  The media world gets weirder every day, but this moment still stands out as something of a stunner - the kind of thing that merits a place on the eternal timeline of “How the Internet Flipped the Media World on Its Head.”  —  Picture it:

Ready ... aim ... point ... talk  —  Handgun used as laser pointer by state official reportedly rattles foreign delegates  —  Jerome M. Hauer, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's director of homeland security, took out his handgun and used the laser sighting device attached to the barrel as a pointer …

The Cleantech Crash  —  Despite billions invested by the U.S. government in so-called “Cleantech” energy, Washington and Silicon Valley have little to show for it  —  The following is a script from “The Cleantech Crash” which aired on Jan. 5, 2014.  Lesley Stahl is the correspondent.

How Al Qaeda Terrorized Its Way Back in Iraq  —  As the country edges closer to civil war, much of the blame goes to Prime Minister Maliki—and the White House.