From the Wire

A Diplomatic Natural, Kerry Hits Ground RunningSecretary of State John Kerry schmoozed and cajoled his way through Europe and the Middle East on his first trip abroad as America's top envoy.
Obama, Republicans Cooperate on Spending, for NowThe Obama administration and congressional Republicans are quietly working in tandem to blunt the impact of short-term spending cuts.
Dow Record Doesn't Impress Wall Street WorkersThere were no signs of a celebration on Wall Street after the Dow Jones industrial average closed at an all-time high Tuesday.
Too Much Money Spent in Iraq for Too Few ResultsTen years and $60 billion in American taxpayer funds later, Iraq is still so unstable and broken that even its leaders question whether U.S. efforts to rebuild the war-torn nation were worth the cost.
Wash. and Colo. 'Potrepreneurs' See OpportunityKim Ridgway and her wife, Kimberly Bliss, can well envision the shop they plan to open—where they'll put the accessories, the baked goods and the shelves stacked with their valuable product: jars of high-quality marijuana.
Chavez Widely Mourned; Some Hope for ChangeVenezuelan President Hugo Chavez is seen as a hero by some, a bully by others.
Miss. Workers Protest Child Support PrivatizationMississippi union members and state workers gathered at the state Capitol Tuesday to protest legislative efforts to privatize the state's child support collections program.
Vatican Still Waiting for 5 Cardinals for ConclaveThe Sistine Chapel closed to visitors on Tuesday and construction work got under way to prepare it for the conclave that will choose the next pope.
U.S., China Propose Tough Sanctions Against N. KoreaThe world moved closer to punishing North Korea for its latest nuclear test Tuesday as the United States introduced a draft resolution, backed by China, with new sanctions aimed at reining in Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and preventing …
Senate Panel Votes to Approve Obama's CIA NomineeThe Senate Intelligence Committee voted Tuesday to approve President Barack Obama's pick to lead the CIA after winning a behind-the-scenes battle with the White House over access to a series of top-secret legal opinions that justify the use of lethal …
Military Leaders Welcome House GOP Budget BillA massive House Republican measure to keep the government operating would ease some of the pain of automatic spending cuts slamming the Defense Department, the nation's senior military leaders told Congress on Tuesday.
Venezuela Announces Death of President ChavezVenezuela's vice president announced that President Hugo Chavez died on Tuesday, ending 14 years of rule by the firebrand socialist but leaving his party firmly in control of the nation.
Racial Episodes Shake Ohio's Oberlin CollegeScrawls of racially offensive graffiti and, more recently, a report of someone wearing what looked like a Ku Klux Klan-type hooded robe on campus have shaken students at historically liberal Oberlin College, one of the nation's first universities to admit …
Dow Closes at All-Time High, Beating 2007 RecordThe Dow is closing at a record, beating the previous high it set in October 2007, before the financial crisis and the Great Recession.
Dem: Miss. Gov a 'Fool' to Not Expand MedicaidA Democratic lawmaker said Monday that Mississippi's Republican governor is a "fool" and a "hypocrite" for opposing Medicaid expansion.