1. House Republicans scrap direct vote on Senate payroll tax plan.
Congress showed little sign Tuesday morning of resolving its partisan standoff over the payroll tax-cut extension as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives refused to hold a vote on a Senate proposal, and leaders in the Democratic-controlled Senate insisted they won't go along with a new House plan. As the clock ticked down on a particularly acrimonious legislative year, nobody seemed to know how to break the logjam. The Senate voted 89-10 in favor of a two-month tax-cut extension on Saturday, but that short-term compromise has slammed into a conservative roadblock in the House, where rank-and-file Republicans are fuming over the short-term nature of the plan, among other things.
2. S. Korea expresses sympathy to N. Korean people.
The South Korean government expressed its sympathy to the people of North Korea following the death of Kim Jong Il, South Korea's unification minister said Tuesday. In a televised press conference, Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik also said Seoul will not send a government delegation to North Korea. However, the South will allow bereaved family members of the late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and the late Hyundai Group Chairman Chung Mong-hun to visit the North in return for a visit by North Korean delegates to the funerals of the two South Korean figures.
3. Women march in Cairo to protest violence.
Egypt's capital remained engulfed in tension on Tuesday, as security forces and protesters clashed and demonstrators at a "Million Women" march railed against the regime and assaults on citizens. Security forces wielding batons, firearms and tear gas attacked defiant protesters Tuesday on the fifth consecutive day of clashes in Cairo's Tahrir Square, witnesses told CNN. Sherif Barakat, a businessman, heard machine gun fire early in the morning and saw the unrest from the balcony of his home above Tahrir Square. He saw security forces charge, firing tear gas and beating people with batons.

1. Deadly Iraq war ends with exit of last U.S. troops.
Early Sunday, as the sun ascended to the winter sky, the very last American convoy made its way down the main highway that connects Iraq and Kuwait. The military called it its final "tactical road march." A series of 110 heavily armored, hulking trucks and Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles carrying about 500 soldiers streamed slowly but steadily out of the combat zone. A few minutes before 8 a.m., the metal gate behind the last MRAP closed. With it came to an end a deadly and divisive war that lasted almost nine years, its enormous cost calculated in blood and billions.
2. Blizzard sweeps out of the Southwest.
A powerful blizzard roared out of the southwestern United States early Monday, threatening residents from Arizona to Kansas with a foot or more of snow. Combined with strong winds and icy roads, the snow could make driving during the holidays dangerous across the region. Snow, falling at a rate of up to two inches an hour, is expected in the mountains of Arizona and New Mexico, the National Weather Service said. The snow is forecast to start battering northeast New Mexico on Monday morning. State emergency personnel and transportation crews there are on call, officials say, ready to act if and when the storm hits hard.
3. North Korea's Kim Jong Il dies; South goes on high alert.
Seoul put South Korean forces on high alert and Pyongyang urged an increase in its "military capability" as the death of North Korea's enigmatic leader Kim Jong Il spurred fresh security concerns in the tense region.
The 69-year-old "dear leader" of the reclusive communist state died of a heart attack on Saturday, state news outlets reported Monday. The ruling Worker's Party proclaimed his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, "the great successor," indicating he would assume his father's post. In the South, across one of the world's most heavily fortified borders, President Lee Myung-bak canceled the rest of his Monday schedule and put all members of South Korea's military on "emergency alert," his office said. The two nations never signed a peace treaty following the Korean War of the early 1950s, leaving the two nations technically at war.

1. Star witness describes Penn State shower scene.
Former Penn State star quarterback and now star witness Mike McQueary testified Friday that he believes he saw Jerry Sandusky molesting a boy in a locker-room shower in 2002. Sandusky, a longtime assistant football coach at the school, has since been accused of more than 50 counts involving sexual acts with 10 boys since 1994. McQueary testified that he walked into a locker room and heard someone in the shower.
2. Thousands of children abused in Dutch churches over 65 years, inquiry says.
Thousands and thousands of children suffered from sexual abuse in the Dutch Roman Catholic Church over more than six decades, and about 800 "possible perpetrators" have been identified, an independent Commission of Inquiry said Friday. "Several tens of thousands of minors have experienced mild, serious and very serious forms of inappropriate sexual behavior. Victims have often suffered for decades from the effects of abuse and have received acknowledgment of the fact," the panel says in its report. "This has caused problems for them, their immediate family and their friends, who require attention and sometimes professional counseling."
3. Russia seizes radioactive objects from flight to Iran.
Russian authorities seized radioactive material from the luggage of a passenger on a flight from Moscow to Tehran on Friday. The luggage, belonging to an Iranian citizen, contained 18 metal objects packed in individual steel cases, Russia's Federal Customs Service said in a statement. The agency said the material, the radioactive isotope sodium-22, can be obtained in a nuclear reactor. Initial tests showed that radiation levels of the objects were 20 times above normal, the customs service said.

1. Paul's serious challenge in Iowa could rock the GOP race.
What if Ron Paul rocked the political establishment, silenced the naysayers and spoiled the party for Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney by winning the Iowa caucuses? "I think I have a good chance," the Republican presidential candidate told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room" on Wednesday. "I'm not saying that I'm not... working on a daily basis, you know, I'm assuming I'm going to win this thing," Paul said. "I'm assuming we're going to do very, very well and have a much better showing than anybody has given us credit for the past year."
2. Syrian defectors tell of orders to kill and torture protesters.
"At one point we killed eight people in 15 minutes. The protesters were unarmed. They didn't even have rocks! That's when I decided to defect. I threw away my gun and ran towards the protesters." "About 1,500 protesters came.....They requested the release of an injured protester who was inside the hospital. They held olive branches. They had no arms. There were 35 army soldiers and about 50 mukhabarat personnel at the checkpoint. We also had a jeep with a mounted machine-gun. When the protesters were less than 100 meters away, we opened fire."
3. Putin points to U.S. role in Gadhafi's killing.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused U.S. drones and special forces of involvement in the death of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in comments Thursday. He also attacked U.S. Sen. John McCain over a warning that Russia might follow the same path as Libya, suggesting McCain was not of sound mind following his time as a prisoner during the Vietnam War. Putin's comments were prompted by a question during his traditional year-end question-and-answer program, broadcast live by state media.

1. CDC: Health reform extends coverage to young Americans.
About 2.5 million young people have received health insurance coverage as a result of health care reform measures that President Barack Obama signed into law last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday. About 2.5 million more people, aged 19 to 25, have health insurance than had it before the law took effect because of a provision that lets young adults remain on their parents' insurance plans through age 26, the agency's National Center for Health Statistics said. "Moms and dads around the country can breathe a little easier knowing their children are covered," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement.
2. Google joins fight against slavery.
Google Inc. announced Wednesday that it's providing $11.5 million in grants to 10 organizations working to end modern-day slavery and human trafficking. Gary Haugen, president and CEO of International Justice Mission, one of the grant recipients, called the move a "game-changing investment." IJM is a Washington-based human rights agency that works to rescue victims of slavery and sexual exploitation in about a dozen countries. "This is the largest corporate step up to the challenge that is beginning to apply direct resources to the fight against slavery," Haugen said.
3. Alleged sex abuse victims suing Syracuse, Boeheim.
Two men who accused a former Syracuse University assistant basketball coach of sexual abuse have filed a defamation lawsuit in a New York court against the university and its longtime head basketball coach, Jim Boeheim, their attorney announced Tuesday. Bobby Davis and his stepbrother, Mike Lang, have alleged that Bernie Fine repeatedly abused them when they were children. The former assistant coach has not been charged with a crime and has maintained his innocence, saying the allegations are "patently false in every aspect." Boeheim initially supported Fine, accusing Lang and Davis of fabricating their accusations of Fine's alleged misconduct.

1. Sandusky prepared to fight child rape charges, attorney says.
Former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky, who is accused of sexually abusing boys, remains "totally prepared and committed to proving his innocence" after waiving his right to a preliminary hearing Tuesday, his attorney said. "We're ready to defend. We've always been ready to defend," attorney Joe Amendola told reporters outside the Centre County Courthouse after the brief court hearing. "Today's waiver has nothing to do with conceding anything. There have been no plea negotiations. There will be no plea negotiations. This is a fight to the death. This is the fight of Jerry Sandusky's life."
2. Ahmadinejad: Iran has 'been able to control' U.S. drone.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that his country has "been able to control" the U.S. drone that Iran claims it recently brought down, Venezuelan state TV reported. "There are people here who have been able to control this spy plane," Ahmadinejad told VTV. "Those who have been in control of this spy plane surely will analyze the plane's system. Furthermore, the systems of Iran are so advanced also, like the system of this plane." Ahmadinejad did not elaborate or specify what precisely he meant when he referred to people "who have been able to control" the drone. He spoke in Farsi, which VTV translated into Spanish. The Farsi portion of the interview was not audible.
3. Prosecutor considers charges after Xavier-Cincinnati brawl.
Four University of Cincinnati basketball players suspended for their involvement in a nationally televised brawl between the Bearcats and their crosstown rivals at Xavier University apologized Monday to their fans and their community and said they were "embarrassed" by their actions. Athletic Director Whit Babcock and Coach Mick Cronin also apologized. They said the team will work "diligently" to regain the respect and trust of the university.

1. Obama, Iraqi prime minister meet amid U.S. troop withdrawal.
President Barack Obama met Monday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki as the United States prepares to complete withdrawing virtually all of its troops from Iraq by the end of the year. The two leaders are expected to discuss cooperation between their countries in the wake of the ongoing troop withdrawal, which is scheduled to be finished by December 31. Some analysts fear violence could spike as groups struggle over power, and that the decreased U.S. presence could allow Iran to increase its influence.
2. Justices accept Arizona's appeal over controversial immigration law.
The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether Arizona can enforce its controversial immigration law, over the strong objections of the Obama administration. The justices made the announcement in a brief order Monday. Federal courts had blocked key parts of the state's Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, known as SB 1070. Arizona had argued illegal immigration was creating financial hardships and safety concerns for its residents and that the federal government has long failed to control the problem. The administration has countered immigration issues are under its exclusive authority and that state "interference" would only make matters worse.
3. NATO-bound trucks attacked, burned in Pakistan.
Armed militants on motorcycles in southwest Pakistan ambushed and set ablaze a convoy of tankers contracted to NATO forces in Afghanistan on Sunday night, police said. The gunmen opened fire after forcing the convoy of eight oil tankers to stop in an area 90 kilometers (55 miles) southwest of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, police official Abdul Qadir said. The militants killed one of the truck's drivers and set the tankers on fire before they escaped, Qadir said.