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Nation and World

 
It’s so cold … polar bears won’t go outside in Chicago

Brutal cold settled over much of the nation this week, sparing the west but leaving people in cities from Nashville to New York scrambling to avoid heading outside. The weather has had some unexpected consequences. We’ll be keeping track of them here throughout the day.

Senate confirms Yellen — first woman to lead the Fed

The Senate confirmed Janet Yellen on Monday as the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve, elevating an advocate of fighting unemployment and a backer of the central bank’s efforts to spur the economy with low interest rates and massive bond purchases.

 
Arctic blast’s frigid temps boggle the mind

Sorry, but we just don’t understand. Sure, many of us came from parts of the country that are being whipped by an arctic blast right now, but the distance makes us a little insensitive to the situation in the Midwest and on the East Coast.

 
Online kill plot: ‘Jihad Jane’ gets 10 years in prison

A troubled Pennsylvania woman who called herself “Jihad Jane” online and plotted to kill a Swedish artist was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison after telling a judge she had been consumed by thoughts of a Muslim holy war.

Brake failure causes Boise bus to crash into building

A public transit bus crashed into a downtown Boise office building on Monday, leaving the front of the vehicle dangling over an underground parking garage.

 
Man who admits slapping toddler gets 8 months in prison

A federal judge on Monday sentenced a man who pleaded guilty to slapping a crying toddler on an Atlanta-bound flight to serve eight months in federal prison. The sentence was more than prosecutors sought.

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Berlin considers Holocaust memorial protection after video

Berlin police say they are considering additional security for Germany’s main Holocaust memorial after an online video appeared to show New Year’s revelers urinating on the site last week.

 
‘Crop circle’ mystery a stunt to publicize computer chip

Chip maker Nvidia Corp. fessed up Sunday: They were responsible for the 310-foot “crop circle” in a California barley field, designed to draw attention to a new product as CES got going in Las Vegas.

 
Missing man found by family after photo published

A missing man who was reunited with his family after he was photographed while pressed against a steam vent to keep warm in downtown Washington is on his way back home to upstate New York.

Romney accepts apology from MSNBC host about photo comments

Mitt Romney says he has accepted an apology from an MSNBC host who joked about a Christmas picture that included the 2012 Republican presidential candidate’s adopted, African-American grandson.

Sex offender seeks admission to Kentucky bar exam

Guy Padraic Hamilton-Smith graduated in the top third of his law school class at the University of Kentucky, but the state Supreme Court blocked him from taking the bar exam because he is a registered sex offender.

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