National: Former international cycling champion Lance Armstrong admitted to Oprah Winfrey that he had used performance-enhancing drugs, Winfrey confirms. The seven-time winner of the Tour de France had for years fought legal battles against doping accusations and denounced former riding mates who said he was lying.  He gave up last summer.

Winfrey said today on CBS This Morning that Armstrong was “pretty forthcoming” but “I would say that he did not come clean in the manner that I expected.” The interview is to be broadcast in two parts later this week on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

• Former President George H.W. Bush was released from the Austin hospital where he had been a patient since Nov. 23 fighting a respiratory illness.

Guns: NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his legislature have agreed on new gun control laws that will tighten already strict regulation of assault rifles and do more to screen the mentally ill from owning guns in New York. The state would ban semi-automatic weapons with one military style feature, and require registration of such weapons already owned.

World:  France has continued its air strikes against Islamist rebels in Mali and says it will commit more troops to the fight. Rebels are within 50 miles of one of Mali’s largest cities. The US has pledged logistical support, but no troops.

• Syrian state television says two rockets hit the university in the city of Aleppo, killing students and people who have taken refuge on campus to escape fighting in the city.

More Globes:  Actress Jody Foster came out as gay while speaking at the Golden Globes Sunday, somewhat of a surprise because it was already well-known in Hollywood, although possibly not to her fans. Foster has been raising children with a female partner from whom she has separated.

The Justice Speaks: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas spoke in open court for the first time since Feb. 22^nd, 2006, causing somewhat of a stir. He is known for almost never speaking in court. During a moment when several justices were speaking, Thomas made a remark, possibly a joke, but no one was able to hear exactly what he said. Whatever it was, a lawyer facing the court said, “I would refute that, Justice Thomas.”

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