Christmas City and World: In his first Christmas celebration as Pope, Francis called on atheists to work with believers of all religions toward “a homemade peace” that can spread across the world. He said, “Let us all unite, either with …

Philippines: An international relief effort is having trouble getting to storm devastated areas of the Philippines. Thousands of people are dead and food and water scarce. The city of Tacloban is essentially leveled.   The Philippine Daily Inquirer quotes a schoolteacher …

National: Shortly after submitting his budget plan, President Obama signed an order imposing $91 billion in automatic cuts for 2014 if Congress doesn’t make a deal. So far Congress has done nothing to avert the $89 billion in cuts already …

Nuketalk: Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani told the Washington Post he would like to reach a quick agreement with the US over his country’s nuclear development. “If it’s three months that would be Iran’s choice, if it’s six months that’s still …

World:  A roar of approval rose up out of Cairo’s Tahrir Square yesterday when Egypt’s top general went on television to announce the toppling of President Mohamed Morsi and the suspension of the country’s year old constitution. Morsi was detained …

 National: Shortly after submitting his budget plan, President Obama signed an order imposing $91 billion in automatic cuts for 2014 if Congress doesn’t make a deal. So far Congress has done nothing to avert the $89 billion in cuts already …

National: The $400 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is going to be sitting on the tarmac for a while. The Pentagon grounded the entire fleet after finding a cracked fan blade in one of the jets. The F-35 has been …

National: The struggling US Postal Service is ending Saturday delivery to save about $2 billion a year. Parcel delivery will continue six days. The Federal government is suing Standard & Poor’s, the nation’s largest credit rating agency, charging fraud in …