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Sears Holdings said sales at stores open at least a year, known as same-store sales, tumbled 5.2% in the eight weeks leading to Christmas Day. The stores to be closed have yet to be identified. (Photo by Seth Perlman / AP)

Illiterate until his 90s, Jim Henry is now a published author

In his mid-90s and retired as a lobsterman, Jim Henry set out to continue his education. He took reading lessons and practiced writing. Now, not only is he reading and writing, but he is published.

USA TODAY

Republican Iowa caucus campaign enters final week

After a brief Christmas respite, Republican presidential hopefuls were stepping up their activities in Iowa before the state holds its caucuses that should winnow the field of seven candidates.

MSNBC

Republicans in pre-vote push

BBC

Blog:

The home stretch in Iowa

(Washington Post)

Right Turn

Sears, Kmart to shut 100-120 stores

Sears Holdings reported a sharp drop in sales and said the results will force it to close 100 to 120 Sears and Kmart stores.

CNNMoney

Higher holiday sales come with caveat

USA TODAY

Sears closing some stores, eye on housing

Reuters

Arab League observers visit Syria’s war-ravaged Homs

A day after reports of heavy fighting and dozens killed in Homs, Arab League observers are heading to the city as a part of an effort to end the fighting in Syria.

Christian Science Monitor

Rights group accuses Syria of hiding detainees from monitors

CNN

Blog:

Syria: Protests in Homs as Arab League visits — live updates

(Guardian)

News Blog

Tracing the origins of a ‘yeti’s finger’

An anatomical specimen labelled “yeti‘s finger” was left overlooked in the vaults of the Royal College of Surgeons’ Hunterian Museum in London for decades. Its origins were unexplained, until now.

BBC

NATION

Hackers make charitable donations with stolen credit cards

The hacking movement “Anonymous” claimed to have stolen thousands of credit card numbers from clients of security think tank Stratfor and pilfered the funds as Christmas donations.

Daily Journal

Poll: Americans say they are better off than their parents

A majority of Americans said they are better off financially than their parents were at the same age, although older adults were more positive about their wealth than younger people were.

ABC News

California executions remain in limbo

California state officials find themselves grappling with a judge‘s order that concludes they’ve botched crafting a new and legal method of putting condemned killers to death by lethal injection.

San Jose Mercury News

POLITICS

Newt Gingrich, Bill Clinton battle over 1990s legacy

Newt Gingrich is running for president on a record of success in the 1990s. It just so happens there’s someone else who lays claim to that record: Bill Clinton.

Politico

Court documents contradict Gingrich on divorce

CNN

Outside groups air barrage of ads in Mass. Senate race

Outside groups on both sides are spending millions of dollars on the race, highlighting the national prominence of the fight over the seat held by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

BUSINESS

Shoppers chase deals on ‘Mega Monday’

It’s the first time in six years that the day after Christmas fell on a Monday, and with most people off of work, retailers expect 60 percent more shoppers to hit the stores.

Chicago Sun-Times

‘Mega Monday’ adding sizzle for retailers

CBS News

‘Mega Monday’ sales figures rival Black Friday

CBS News

Bank of America mulls more asset sales to boost capital

Bank of America Corp. is lagging behind its major U.S. competitors in complying with new capital rules, leading the bank to consider more asset sales, sources said.

Reuters

Online shopping jumped 16.4 percent on Christmas Day

IBM found that online shopping jumped 16.4-percent on Christmas Day over last year, and the dollar amount of those purchases that were made using mobile devices leaped 172.9-percent.

Sydney Morning Herald

EDUCATION

Is classroom off-limits to teacher views?

It’s a delicate balancing act for teachers: how to encourage lively discussions with a captive, impressionable audience without pushing their own views on the students.

Star Tribune

More schooling might raise IQ

Education has lasting effects on cognitive skills, such as those broadly measured by IQ tests. A new study suggests that children who have more schooling may see their IQ improve.

HealthDay

HEALTH

Painkillers 10 times stronger than Vicodin being readied for release

Pharmaceutical companies are cooking up a prescription painkiller that’s far more powerful than Vicodin.

NY Daily News

Quit-smoking program for teens uses high-tech tools

The National Cancer Institute is rolling out a new quitting program aimed at teens. It now includes a website and texting support, and it will add a smartphone application.

USA TODAY

How to make a quit-smoking resolution stick

HealthDay

RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY

Peres urges Israelis to mobilize to thwart ultra-Orthodox zealots

Israeli President Shimon Peres urged Israelis to rally against ultra-Orthodox Jewish zealots trying to impose their strict religious code on a troubled town near Jerusalem.

Reuters

Israeli girl’s plight highlights Jewish extremism

Msnbc.com

African Americans in Mennonite families bridge 2 worlds

Janelle and Jasmine Newswanger lead simple lives in one of Pennsylvania’s Mennonite communities. The girls blend in with the people in their lives, set apart in only one way — they are African American.

Philadelphia Inquirer

Columns And Op-Ed

The opinions in the items below are not necessarily those of DailySource or our editors. Read more.

Column (Courtney E. Martin):

My ‘Millennials’ generation is busy reimagining a life of ethics

Christian Science Monitor

Column (Lyric Hughs Hale):

The coming accidental war with Iran

Huffington Post

Editorial:

Rising Africa: ‘Lion economies’ are starting to roar

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Editorial:

Too fast to leave Iraq? No, too quick to go in

USA TODAY

Column (Philip Johnston):

There’s no escaping Charles Dickens

Telegraph.co.uk

Column (Irin Carmon):

What gay rights wins can teach pro-choice movement

Salon

Editorial:

Court of Appeals should order disclosure of pensioners’ names

NY Daily News

Column (Eadie Shanker):

Charter schools are not the solution

NY Daily News

Site edited by: Jameson O'Neal, Yagmur Guller, Rachel Barrus, Ashley Nawn, Samantha Floyd and Catherine Lux.

GOOD NEWS

Sunnyvale teen, San Jose senior show for every gift, there is a giver

They are several generations apart and have never met, but Madison Frame and Robert Linburgh each spent Christmas the same way: giving up their holiday to make the day meaningful for others.

San Jose Mercury News

Surprisingly upbeat state of the world

Yes, awful things happen in the world, but here‘s something you’d never guess from watching cable news: There is progress in mankind’s affairs.

Christian Science Monitor

For Joplin, a love letter in ruins

As this rebuilding city races to finish clearing the rubble from a deadly tornado, one irreparably broken structure has been allowed, for now at least, to remain.

Msnbc.com

WORLD

Kim Jong Il’s heir meets with South Korean delegation

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un burnished his diplomatic skills, welcoming a private South Korean mourning delegation and offering his thanks as state media called him a “sagacious leader.”

ABC News

Kim Jung Un meets South Korean delegation

Al Jazeera

Japan, China holding talks on the future of Korean peninsula

Chinese and Japanese leaders held talks to discuss peace and stability on the Korean peninsula following the recent death of North Korean ruler Kim Jong Il, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

CNN

‘Rising star’ of Pakistani politics: Charismatic Khan wows 100,000 at rally

Professional sportsman-turned-politician Imran Khan has cemented his standing as a force in Pakistan politics after his rally in Karachi brought at least 100,000 supporters onto the streets.

Msnbc.com

ENVIRONMENT

Horse breeders seek to rein in bets on barrel race

Barrel racing has been the subject of betting before. But one facility aims to turn barrel racing into a pari-mutuel-style betting sport, where those who back the top finishers in each race split the pot.

NPR

Electricity sparks new life into Indonesia’s coral reefs

A technique borrowed from the 1970s uses a weak electrical current to charge underwater metal structures, provoking a fast build-up of limestone and helping the corals off Bali flourish.

Discovery News

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

NASA: Twin probes to orbit moon, study gravity field

NASA has announced that it is entering a new stage of a mission intended to place a pair of probes around Earth’s nearest neighbor and only satellite.

The State Column

Balloons to the edge of space

New Scientist

Bees may experience emotions, moods

Recent studies have rekindled the debate over animals experiencing emotions by showing honeybees experience something akin to moods.

Scientific American

Electricity sparks new life into Indonesia’s coral reefs

A weak, harmless voltage run through metallic structures underwater is reviving near-dead reefs in Indonesia.

Discovery News

SPORTS

Drew Brees sets single-season passing record as Saints clinch NFC South

Drew Brees set the NFL record for yards passing in a season, breaking a mark that Dan Marino had held for nearly three decades, and New Orleans clinched the NFC South.

ESPN

Brees sets passing mark in win

YouTube

Bengals give away final game tickets

Bengals fans lined up for a ticket promotion aimed at filling Paul Brown Stadium for the final game. The challenge is to fill the stadium, which has been one-third empty for most games.

USA TODAY

LIVING AND ENTERTAINMENT

Hidden angels: American families saving children with Down syndrome

A growing number of Americans are clamoring to adopt children with Down syndrome from eastern European countries, giving them lives their parents never knew they could have.

ABC News

‘Mission: Impossible’ cruises to top of holiday box office

After its blistering debut on IMAX screens, “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol” overtook “Sherlock Holmes” on a packed weekend, ruling theaters over the Christmas holiday.

USA TODAY

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