Jacob Lew, the U.S. Treasury secretary, urged Congress in a letter to raise the debt ceiling by Feb. 7 and “certainly” before late next month to ensure the stability of the U.S. economy and financial system.
Maria Bartiromo, who left CNBC in November after 20 years, is joining Fox Business Network as its global-markets editor and will anchor a daily program for that network, plus a weekly business-oriented show for Fox News Channel, with both programs to begin by April.
Mark O’Mara, the Florida attorney who successfully defended George Zimmerman after Zimmerman fatally shot unarmed teen Trayvon Martin in 2012, has been hired to represent Terry Freeman II, a firefighter accused by several women of rape.
Julie Bishop, Australia’s foreign minister, accused former National Security Agency analyst Edward Snowden of “unprecedented treachery” for his leaks about secret government surveillance and offered a staunch defense of her nation’s intelligence cooperation with America during remarks at a Washington think tank.
Alexis Prokopchuk, 29, of Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., was charged with misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct and cruelty to animals, accused of leaving a 2-foot-long alligator at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
William Dresser, 88, a Nevada man who authorities say shot his 86-year-old wife of 63 years, Francis, while she was hospitalized in what was an apparent murder-suicide attempt, was charged with murder after she died.
Nicholas Brown, a 57-year-old Maine man, said he crawled 2½ miles in below-freezing temperatures to get help after breaking his leg in a snowmobiling accident.
April Dooley, 42, of Long Beach, Calif., gave birth to naturally conceived identical triplets, considered extremely rare, naming them Patrick, Owen and Liam and instantly doubling the size of her family with husband Brad and daughter Kaitlyn, 5.
Akil Mochtar, a former Indonesian chief justice who was arrested on accusations of receiving a $250,000 bribe, has more than $16 million in assets, including 33 cars and 31 motorcycles, a graft commission said.
Sister Mary Tracy resigned as president of a suburban Seattle Catholic school in the turmoil after the school’s decision to force out a vice principal, Mark Zmuda, who married his same-sex partner.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 01/23/2014