Despite receiving more "no" votes than any speaker in a generation, the exceptionally tanned John Boehner will continue to lead the cavalier, feisty, zealous, and occasionally insane band of Republicans who currently get to say what goes and what doesn't in the US House of Representatives.

Which means it's a good thing Boehner decided to allow a vote, after all, on some of the billions of dollars needed for Hurricane Sandy relief. Nearly $10 billion got the okay this morning, money pried loose from the GOP after a fierce tongue-lashing by one of their own, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

The job market enjoyed another month of modest swelling, adding 155,000 new positions in December to keep the unemployment rate at 7.8 percent. Overall in 2012? The economy added 1.8 million jobs that came even though the usual lifeline in a recovery, the government payroll, continued to wither.

The Pakistani girl shot by the Taliban because after bravely speaking her mind about objectively not-terrible things like education and literacy for women has been released from the hospital where she'd been recovering for months.

Al Gore didn't want to lose out on $100 million, so he did an amazing amount of arm-twisting and righteous bullying to make sure Current TV stays on your cable and satellite boxes once Al-Jazeera takes it over.

If the universe is kind, Barney Frank will return to Congress as a US senator, tag-teaming with Elizabeth Warren, when John Kerry takes over the State Department this year.

Cascading health concerns are making it increasingly unlikely Hugo Chavez can continue to lead Venezuela let alone continue to impose his own peculiar brand of personality cult socialism on the place.

Some aging child actor from a couple of 1980s movies is buying up the Tully's coffee chain and its mediocre offerings.

Hey science types! Check out this Martian meteor found in the Sahara—it's super ancient and it's even got water!

The 20th century's violent crime bubble may have had a very tiny helper: the lead molecules that used to be spewed out in our gasoline. It's the best explanation yet for the rise and fall of murder and mayhem over the past 50 years.

Some of you excitedly dressed like 7-Up cans yesterday. Glad it worked out for you.

My flights are boring. Unlike this one: "The women were drinking Malibu rum and swore at children. They reportedly threatened the family of a British Airways flight attendant and tried to storm the cockpit and hid in the lavatory and tried to smoke."

THIS WOULD ALSO SUFFICE FOR IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT. THANKS!