New diet guidelines might reflect environment cost  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — For years, the government has been issuing guidelines about healthy eating choices.  Now, a panel that advises the Agriculture Department is ready to recommend that you be told not only what foods are better for your own health, but for the environment as well.

Sen. Harry Reid Suffers Broken Ribs, Facial Bones … Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid was injured Thursday in an accident while exercising at his home in Henderson, Nevada.  —  According to a statement today from the Nevada Senator's office, Reid was hurt after a piece of equipment he was using broke, which caused him to fall.

How Low Income New Yorkers Are Benefiting From The NYPD's Work Stoppage  —  From right, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton smile in conversation during a New York Police Academy graduation ceremony, Monday Dec. 29, 2014.  —  CREDIT: AP Photo/John Minchillo

Bill Richardson: Kim Jong Un a ‘victim’ of bad publicity  —  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is a “victim” of bad publicity, according to Bill Richardson, the former New Mexico governor and U.N. ambassador.  —  “He has been the victim, Kim Jong Un, of a lot of bad press …

Prince Andrew named in US lawsuit over underage sex allegations  —  In case related to banker Jeffrey Epstein, woman alleges in court filing that she was forced to have repeated ‘sexual relations’ with duke  —  A woman who claims that an American investment banker loaned her to rich …

Sarah Palin's First Facebook Post of the Year Is Already Controversial  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has already attracted controversy in 2015, after posting a series of photos showing her youngest son standing on the family dog.  —  “May 2015 see every stumbling block turned …

Cluster of Concerns Vie for Top U.S. Problem in 2014  —  Story Highlights  —  PRINCETON, N.J. — In 2014, four issues generated enough public concern over enough months for at least 10% of Americans, on average, to identify each of them as the nation's most important problem.

Senate Dems: Don't politicize Congressional Budget Office  —  The relatively obscure job of Congressional Budget Office director is shaping up to be one of the new Congress' first partisan food fights.  —  Republican House and Senate leaders are mulling the replacement of Douglas Elmendorf …

LITTLE BOOK OF A BIG YEAR: Bono's A to Z of 2014  —  It's January 1, 8pm.  I nearly didn't press go on this, and I am clearly delirious in places.  It's very personal, but I feel in a not corny way that U2 has a very intimate relationship with our audience... so I'm going for it.  —  This is too long.

Morning Plum: A SCOTUS decision gutting Obamacare could cause widespread disruptions  —  One of the big, looming questions of 2015 is this: Will the Supreme Court really gut Obamacare subsidies in the three dozen states on the federal exchange, potentially depriving millions of health coverage …

Granite City man finds out what's been hidden in his arm for 51 years  —  CREVE COEUR  • Unlike the times Betty Lampitt gave birth, on Wednesday morning she was the one praying the rosary in a corner of the waiting room.  It was just an out-patient surgery procedure.

Limestone County home vandalized with racist graffiti  —  LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. - Terry Turner was ringing in the new year with her granddaughter Wednesday evening when a crash at the front of her home startled her.  —  She was in the back bedroom of her home when three windows in the front of the house were broken by heavy rocks.

New Poll Shows Tepid GOP Support for Boehner in Role of Speaker … The EMC Research survey polled 602 Republican voters and independents who lean Republican and voted Republican in 2014; the margin of error is +/- 4 percentage points.  The poll was conducted from December 26 to 30.

Twin Peaks Planet  —  In 2014, soaring inequality in advanced nations finally received the attention it deserved, as Thomas Piketty's “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” became a surprise (and deserving) best seller.  The usual suspects are still in well-paid denial, but, to everyone else …

Gun Control Groups, Blocked in Washington, Turn Attention to States  —  WASHINGTON — The gun control movement, blocked in Congress and facing mounting losses in federal elections, is tweaking its name, refining its goals and using the same-sex marriage movement as a model to take the fight to voters on the state level.