Exclusive: Beyoncé lip-synched Star Spangled Banner at inauguration  —  Beyoncé did not sing the national anthem live at President Obama's inauguration.  —  Millions of viewers around the world were stunned by the singer's spectacular rendition of the anthem but The Times …

Reid to lay out plans for filibuster reform  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will present colleagues with options for reforming the Senate's filibuster rules in a Democratic caucus meeting Tuesday.  —  Reid and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) …

NBC/WSJ poll: Majority, for first time, want abortion to be legal  —  As the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision takes place on Tuesday, a majority of Americans - for the first time - believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

Ryan: Obama ‘Shadowboxing a Straw Man’  —  Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan knocked President Barack Obama for “shadowbox[ing] a straw man” in his inaugural address.  Speaking Tuesday morning on the Laura Ingraham Radio Show to guest host Raymond Arroyo, Ryan responded to Obama's statement that Medicare …

The Collective Turn  —  The best Inaugural Addresses make an argument for something.  President Obama's second one, which surely has to rank among the best of the past half-century, makes an argument for a pragmatic and patriotic progressivism.  —  His critics have sometimes accused …

Two shot at Lone Star College in north Houston  —  HOUSTON (KTRK) — A campus spokesperson has confirmed shots have been fired on the campus of Lone Star College in north Houston.  Two victims have suffered gunshot wounds, according to the Harris County Emergency Corp.

State school-board president defends Hitler post on Facebook  —  Not comparing him to Obama, she says  —  State Board of Education President Debe Terhar said she was not comparing President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler when she posted a photograph of the Nazi leader on her Facebook page …

Exit Polls in Israel Suggest Netanyahu's Showing Is Weaker Than Expected  —  TEL AVIV — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu performed far worse than expected in Israel's national elections on Tuesday, according to exit polls, and while he remained likely to serve a third term …

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO — James Taylor on gun control: ‘We need to make some sacrifice[s] to our freedoms’  —  WASHINGTON — Addressing the issue of gun control, singer-songwriter James Taylor told The Daily Caller that Americans “need to make some sacrifice[s] to our freedoms” in order to keep children safe.

House Republicans plan to keep debt limit but suspend it until May  —  Forget about raising the federal debt limit.  House Republicans are proposing to ignore it altogether — at least until May 18.  —  The House plans to vote Wednesday on a measure that would leave the $16.4 trillion debt limit intact …

Sarkozy's plans 'to dodge new 75% French tax rate by moving to London with wife Carla and setting up £1bn private equity fund'  —  Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing to move to London to set up a billion pounds plus investment fund, it was claimed today.  —  If the move goes ahead …

Veteran stands up for 2nd Amendment at Chicago anti-gun forum  —  After enduring hours of derision and mockery by the panelists at a Chicago-area guns “forum” Sunday, one man in the audience stood up and addressed the crowd, identified himself as a veteran, and proceeded to give a straightforward …

The American Case Against a Black Middle Class  —  I went on a Twitter rant yesterday because I'd finished Isabel Wilkerson's phenomenal The Warmth Of Other Suns.  The book is a narrative history of the Great Migration through the eyes of actual migrants.  Several points stick out for me.

ISUE4U: State sued over banned vanity plates  —  Issuing vanity license plates now may officially be more trouble than it's worth.  —  Hours after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published a story last week about the state's arbitrary approval process of vanity license plates for motor vehicles …

Humans are plague on Earth - Attenborough  —  Humans are a plague on the Earth that need to be controlled by limiting population growth, according to Sir David Attenborough.  —  Sir Attenborough said commentary from presenters like himself are becoming less necessary as camera work is able to tell a story

U.S. Trade Representative Kirk stepping down  —  (CNN) - Ron Kirk, the United States trade representative, will step down in February, his office announced Tuesday.  —  Responsible for developing and recommending American trade policy to the president, the trade representative is a Cabinet-level position …

Let elderly people ‘hurry up and die’, says Japanese minister  —  Taro Aso says he would refuse end-of-life care and would ‘feel bad’ knowing treatment was paid for by government  —  Japan's new government is barely a month old, and already one of its most senior members has insulted tens …

TRENDING: CNN Poll: Do Americans agree with Obama on climate change and immigration?  —  Washington (CNN) - Saying “we will respond to the threat of climate change,” President Barack Obama used his second inaugural address to put the divisive issue back on the front burner.

‘The Dream is Now’—Steve Jobs' widow launches new Dream Act push  —  The teenage girl peers into the camera, ready to divulge a secret.  —  “All my siblings are documented except me,” says the girl, identified onscreen as Cendy.  “I know I have a lot of potential but that I might not get there because my status will hold me back.”

Obama shoves idealism into its grave  —  A young reporter who has covered only President Obama's first term has already witnessed several political epochs.  —  Obama's election was a symbol of reconciliation in America's longest, bloodiest conflict — the one that produced Antietam.