Jim Schneider cleared the news desk for another news round-up edition of Crosstalk. Headlines mentioned included:
--A massive winter storm continues to pummel the eastern U.S.
--L.A. police continue the manhunt for former police officer Christopher Dorner, suspected of killing 3 and injuring 2.
--In a Washington, D.C. courtroom, Floyd Lee Corkins pleaded guilty to three charges associated with the shooting of a security guard at the national headquarters of the Family Research Council. He admitted he identified his targets on the Southern Policy Law Center website.
--Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told senators that President Obama was absent the night that U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens and 3 other Americans were killed in Benghazi on September 11th of last year.
--Senator Lindsey Graham vows to hold President Obama accountable for his leadership on Benghazi.
--Outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton blames the Bush administration for the lack of funding to secure the Benghazi embassy.
--A report from the Social Security Administrator found 4,317 instances where a non-citizen was able to obtain 2 Social Security numbers.
--A “think tank” with close ties to the White House is outlining a plan to provide preschool for all 3 and 4 year olds.
--Owners and makers of assault style weapons could soon be held legally liable in Colorado for crimes committed with their guns if sponsors of a new gun control package get their way.
--The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing to examine the itemized deduction for charitable contributions.
--The Secret Service confirms that they are investigating reports regarding a hacker that has broken in to e-mail accounts of Bush family members.
--Connecticut state officials are looking to require confidential behavioral health assessments of every public school student in grades 6,8,10 and 12 and every home school student at ages, 12, 14 and 17.
--North Dakota may be on the verge of becoming the first state in the union to protect human beings from the moment of conception.
--Outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is expected to announce the expansion of some military dependent benefits to the same-sex spouses of homosexual personnel.
--Miami-Dade circuit judge approves a private adoption allowing a gay man and a married lesbian couple to be listed on the birth certificate of their 23 month old daughter.
--The founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure throws her weight behind homosexual activism.
--Pastor Ed Young of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, comments on the life of Ellen DeGeneres in sermon series.
--Time Magazine describes Florida Senator Marco Rubio as the Republican “savior.”
--A bipartisan group of top lawmakers from the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to President Obama requesting that the committee be granted the opportunity to review all Justice Department documents pertaining to the legal justification of drone strikes against Americans overseas.
--Iranian born American Pastor Saeed Abedini is facing 8 years in Iranian prisons because of his Christian faith.
--The Obama administration approved the request of a college in Pennsylvania to sell the Plan B abortion drug through a vending machine.
--President Obama presented a message to NARAL Pro-Choice America as they held their annual dinner celebrating the Roe v. Wade decision.
--Chinese family planning officials ran over a 13 month old boy with a mini-bus after feuding with the Chinese resident over fines related to the birth of the child, born outside of China’s one-child policy.
--Doomsday biologist says the world now faces dangerous trends of global climate change and overpopulation that threaten our extinction.
--Entitlements and Obamacare spending will comprise 53% of all federal spending over the coming decade.
--Obamacare will push 7 million people out of their job based health insurance coverage.
--Attorneys file the first legal challenge to the Obama administration’s abortion pill mandate since the announcement of additional proposed rules that do not respect the religious freedom of family business owners.
--Supermarket owners argue that a pending federal food labeling rule that stems from the new health care law would overburden thousands of supermarket and convenience store owners to the tune of 1 billion dollars in just the first year.
--Iran leader says his nation possesses nuclear technology that won’t harm Israel.
--British government leaders voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage.
--New Zealand is rushing a marriage bill through.