Guns: President Obama today proposed a new ban on assault weapons, a ten-round magazine limit, and universal background checks for all gun sales, including at gun shows. The President, and Vice President Biden, spoke to an audience that included parents of children killed in the Newtown massacre. “When it comes to protecting the most vulnerable among us, we must act now,” the President said. “Let’s do the right thing for them and this country we love so much.”

 The toughest gun laws in the country were passed yesterday by the NY State legislature. “Common sense can win. You can overpower the extremists with intelligence and with reason and with common sense, ” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. The law bans an even wider array of weapons than previously in New York, as well as restricting magazine capacity to seven rounds and even requiring background checks for bullet purchases.

National:  The House approved $50.7 billion in aid for areas hit by Superstorm Sandy in the fall over the objection of a small Republican  opposition that insisted on matching spending cuts.

• Wal-Mart announced it will hire any veteran who wants a job, as many as 100,000 of them in the next five years.

World: Fighting appears to be intensifying in Mali as French ground forces move in. Unconfirmed reports say the French are trying to re-take a village occupied by Islamic rebels just a few days ago. The Mali rebels are enforcing strict Islamic law and developing a reputation for cruelty in areas they control. The Islamists have also banned music and musicians are beginning to flee the country. Music is at the core of Malian culture.

• In London this morning a helicopter hit a construction crane and crashed to the street killing two people and causing a fireball.
• Two car bombs killed at least 22 people in Syria this morning. At least 87 people were killed and about 150 injured yesterday in those two explosions at the university in Aleppo. It is unclear whether they were the result of an airstrike or missile attack.

Livestrong: Immediately after admitting to Oprah Winfrey in a three-hour interview that he used performance drugs, former cycling champion Lance Armstrong became a national punchline. David Letterman said the number one reason Armstrong made his confession was that he just wanted to get on Oprah.  Jimmy Fallon said, “Three hours!! That’s a  regular interview on steroids.”

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