PENTAGON LIFTING BAN ON WOMEN IN COMBAT: Defense officials said Wednesday
(January 23rd) that the Pentagon is lifting its ban on women serving in combat, an historic move that will open front-line positions and potentially elite commando jobs to female members of the military, with an announcement set for today by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.  The change, which has been recommended by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will not
be implemented all at once or overnight, however. Plans must first be developed for the change, and while some jobs may open as soon as this year, assessments for others, such as special operations forces, may take longer. The services will also have the opportunity to make the case that some positions should remain closed to women. Opposition to women in combat has been based on whether they have the necessary strength and stamina for certain jobs, or whether their presence might hurt unit cohesion. But even though they weren't allowed into combat positions on paper, in reality they were serving in some of those roles
in Iraq and Afghanistan, including as medics, military police and intelligence officers.

NORTH KOREA: NEXT NUKE TEST WILL TARGET US After threatening new nuclear tests amid heightened sanctions yesterday, North Korea is getting more specific: Those tests will target the US, its "sworn enemy," the country says. "We are not disguising the fact that the various satellites and long-range rockets that we will fire and the high-level nuclear test we
will carry out are targeted at the United States," military leaders said.  South Korea says the North is "technically ready" for new nuclear tests, Reuters reports.

CLINTON FIRM, AT TIMES DEFIANT, IN BENGHAZI TESTIMONY: Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton was firm and defiant at times in testimony yesterday (January 23rd) before two congressional committees about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi,
Libya, last September in which Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed. Under tough and critical questioning from Republican lawmakers, first before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and then the committee in the House, Clinton rejected the suggestion that the administration tried to mislead the country about the attack. She also once again took responsibility for the department's failures leading up to the assault, but also said that requests for more security at the consulate didn't reach her desk, and reminded lawmakers about State Department security funding cuts made by Congress. Clinton was emotional at one point as she talked about the four Americans who'd died: "For me, this is not just a matter of policy, it's personal. I stood next to President Obama as the Marines carried those flag-draped caskets off the plane at Andrews. I put my arms around the mothers and fathers, the sisters and brothers, the sons and daughters and the wives left alone to raise their children."

As GOP Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin pressed on the frequent Republican criticism of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice saying five days after the attack that it was sparked by protests instead of terrorism, which later was found to not be true, an annoyed and angry Clinton, who'd said people were going off the best information at the time, put the focus on looking ahead to improve security rather than revisiting the issue yet again. [(Johnson) "We were
misled that there were supposedly protests and then something sprang out of that, an assault sprang out of that. And that was easily ascertained that that was not the fact. And the American people could have known that within days and they didn't know that." (Clinton) "With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans. Was it because of a protest, or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they'd go kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, Senator."]

APPLE SHARES FALL 10 PERCENT ON DISAPPOINTING IPHONE SALES: Shares of Apple fell 10 percent in after-hours trading, wiping out some $50 billion of its market value, following the world's largest tech company missing Wall Street's revenue forecast for the
third straight quarter after iPhone sales came in below expectations. On Wednesday (January 23rd), Apple said it shipped a record 47.8 million iPhones in the December quarter, up 29 percent from a year earlier. But that was behind the 50 million that analysts had projected for the iPhone, which accounts for half of Apple's revenue.

VETERAN L.A. TEACHER ACCUSED OF SEX ABUSE OF 20 KIDS: A veteran Los Angeles fourth-grade teacher who'd been in the classroom for nearly 40 years was arrested Wednesday (January 23rd) on suspicion of sexually abusing 20 students and one adult. Police said that Robert Pimentel, a teacher at George De La Torre Jr. Elementary in the Wilmington area, was being held on $12 million bail. The Los Angeles Unified School District said that when the investigation began last March, Pimentel was immediately removed from the school and parents and state credentialing authorities were informed. They also said he retired before he could be fired.

UNION MEMBERSHIP FALLS TO LOWEST LEVEL IN 76 YEARS: The percentage of American workers who belong to labor unions fell to 11.3 percent in 2012 from 11.8 percent a year earlier, the lowest level in 76 years, according to a Labor Department report out Wednesday (January 23rd). Almost half of the losses were in the industrial Midwest, where states with Republican-led governments have been taking on the unions, with the passage of things like "right-to-work" laws that make payment of union dues voluntary.  However, there were also losses in big union states controlled by Democrats, such as Illinois and New York, as lawmakers have sought concessions from public workers as they face public employee pension crises and big drops in tax revenue. Union membership peaked in 1954, when 28.3 percent of American workers were represented by organized labor.

COURT CHALLENGE AGAINST NYC BIG SODA BAN: The beverage and restaurant industries urged a judge Wednesday (January 23rd) to block New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's ban on large sugary drinks, calling it unconstitutional, an infringement on personal liberty and a burden on small businesses. The ban, which is set to go into effect in March, bans the sale of sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces at restaurants and many other eateries in the city in an effort to fight obesity. Attorney James Brandt, representing the
American Beverage Association, said the ban that was approved last fall by the city's health board is an illegal end-run around the city council, however the city attorney argued that the health board has legal authority to pass regulations to protect the safety, health and well-being of city residents.  Brandt also charged that the ban favors certain businesses, since it doesn't apply to convenience and grocery stores.

MOST RESEARCH CHIMPS USED BY FEDERAL SCIENTISTS TO BE RETIRED: Government scientists have agreed in a proposal from a National Institutes of Health committee that all but 50 of hundreds of chimpanzees kept for federally-funded research should be retired from labs and sent to a national sanctuary. The proposal says that chimps
should be used for research only if there is no other way to study a threat to human health, and the research should be approved by an independent committee with members from the public. Additionally, according to the proposal, all of the chimps should have plenty of room to play and climb and be kept in groups of at least seven.

WOMEN NOW CAUGHT UP TO MEN ON LUNG CANCER RISK: New research in today's (January 24th) New England Journal of Medicine found that U.S. women have now caught up to men in their lung cancer risk, with women who smoke today having a much greater risk
of dying from lung cancer than they did decades ago, partly because they are starting younger and smoking more -- meaning, they are smoking like men. Lung cancer risk leveled off in the 1980s for men, but it still rising for women, since smoking rates peaked among men around 1960, but two decades later for women. Among the findings:

• The risk of dying from lung cancer was more than 25 times higher for female smokers in recent years than for women who never smoked. In the 1960s it was only three times higher. A main reason is because after World War Two, women started smoking at a younger age and began smoking more.
• Women are far less likely to quit smoking than men. Among those 65 to 69, the ratio of former to current smokers is 4 to 1 for men and 2 to 1 for women.
• Smoking takes more than 10 years off the average life span, but quitting at any age buys more time. Quitting by age 40 avoid nearly all the excess risk of death from smoking.

PRINCESS KATE UNDERGOING HYPNOTHERAPY FOR FOOD AVERSION: Britain's Princess Kate, who is pregnant with her and Prince William's first child and was
hospitalized in December for acute morning sickness, is undergoing hypnotherapy
to overcome food aversion, FoxNews.com reported, citing ibitimes.co.uk. Kate's
friend, Jessica Hay, told Australia's New Ideas magazine, "Kate still looks at food and feels nauseous. She's been plagued with that feeling you have when you've had food poisoning and your stomach's shrunk. . . . The hypnotherapy is taking away any negative thoughts connected with food from the morning sickness, and replacing them with cravings for healthy, nutritious food."

NO.1 DUKE TROUNCED BY NO. 25 MIAMI 90-63: Duke, college basketball's top team, was trounced by Number 25 Miami last night (January 23rd) 90-63 in front of an ecstatic Florida crowd. The defeat was the third-worst ever for a Number One team, and the last time Duke lost a regular-season game by a bigger margin was in 1984. This was also Miami's first win against a Number One team.

AZARENKA TO FACE LI NA IN AUSTRALIAN OPEN FINAL: Defending champion Victoria
Azarenka will play Li Na in the Australian Open final after both won their semi-final matches Thursday (January 24th). The top-seeded Azarenka of Belarus defeated 29th-seeded American 19-year-old Sloane Stephens 6-1, 6-4, one day after Stephen's big upset over Serena Williams. In the other semifinal, sixth-seeded Li Na of China beat second-ranked Maria Sharapova of Russia 6-2, 6-2. On the men's side, top-ranked Novak Djokovic will play fourth-seeded David Ferrer in the semifinals, and Number Two Roger Federer will take on third-ranked Andy Murray in the other semi.

TE'O ADMITS HE LIED AFTER LEARNING DEAD ONLINE GIRLFRIEND WAS FAKE: Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o admitted in an interview with Katie Couric that he lied and answered media questions about his supposedly dead online girlfriend even after he received a call on December 6th from the woman he'd believed to be her. However, he continued to insist he played no part in the hoax, saying he was convinced the woman he knew as Lennay Kekua died in September. Te'o contends he never met Kekua in person, but developed a serious relationship with her through phone calls and electronic messages. Te'o said in the
interview that's set to air today (January 24th) on Couric's talk show, part of which aired Wednesday on ABC's Good Morning America, "Katie, put yourself in my situation.  I, my whole world told me that she died on September 12. Everybody knew that.  This girl, who I committed myself to, died on September 12. Now I get a phone call on December 6 saying that she's alive and then I'm going be put on national TV two days later. And to ask me about the same question. You know, what would you do?" The Heisman Trophy finalist's father, Brian Te'o, defended his son from the charges he was in on the hoax for personal gain,
saying, "People can speculate about what they think he is. I've known him 21 years of his life. And he's not a liar. He's a kid."

JUNIOR SEAU'S FAMILY SUES NFL: Junior Seau's ex-wife and four children sued the NFL on Wednesday (January 23rd), saying the former linebacker's May 2012 suicide was the result of brain disease caused by violent hits he sustained while playing. The wrongful death
lawsuit charges the NFL hid the dangers of repetitive blows to the head, ignoring and concealing evidence of the risks associated with traumatic brain injuries. Seau died at age 43 of a self-inflicted gunshot.

LANCE ARMSTRONG, PUBLISHERS SUED FOR FRAUD OVER MEMOIRS: Two California men have sued Lance Armstrong and his book publishers for fraud and false advertising, claiming his best-selling memoirs, which were billed as non-fiction, have now been revealed to be filled with lies after the cyclist confessed last week to systematic doping. The class-action complaint says the men bought the books, It's Not About the Bike and Every Second Counts, because they believed in Armstrong and his story of returning without the help of
performance-enhancing drugs to the Tour de France after nearly dying of testicular cancer, but now felt "duped," "cheated" and "betrayed."

IRISH COUNTY LEGALIZES DRUNK DRIVING: A county in Ireland has reportedly passed a measure to allow rural drivers to drive while intoxicated. The County Kerry Council voted to
give special permits to certain individuals who live in rural areas so they can legally drive home after consuming two to three alcoholic beverages. The bill was introduced by a council member who also happens to be a pub owner. He said the new measure would prevent loneliness and reduce the risk of suicide for people who live in the backcountry. The pub owner explained, "A lot of these people are living in isolated rural areas where there's no public transport of any kind, and they end up at home looking at the four walls, night
in and night out, because they don't want to take the risk of losing their license." The Irish Department of Transport and Alcohol Action Ireland along with the Road Safety Authority are all against the proposal. A spokesman from the Department of Transport said, "Unfortunately, rural areas are among the most dangerous roads in Ireland. We need to be looking at how to make our roads safer, particularly in rural areas, instead of trying to reverse existing measures, which are clearly working." (ABC)

FOO FIGHTERS ‘HAVE A PLAN’ FOR NEXT ALBUM: Dave Grohl may be busy promoting his debut as a film director and assembling superstar concerts, but he hasn't forgotten about
his main gig. Grohl told MTV News that Foo Fighters are already thinking about their next album, saying, "We have a plan, we know exactly what's coming next, and I have the music
for the next record and we're going to start working on it once we finish doing all this stuff . . . we have really awesome, big plans for the next album and I'm really excited about it."

The Foos announced that they were going on hiatus late last year after finishing the touring cycle for their seventh album, 2011's Wasting Light. Even then, however, Grohl was talking about a follow-up, saying, "(I have) a concept for the next album we've never done before. And who knows? There might be a movie to go with it."

• Members of the Foos joined Grohl in Park City, Utah this past week, where his debut as a director, the documentary Sound City, premiered.
• The Foos, members of Nirvana and artists like Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty and Corey Taylor joined Grohl for a concert last Friday (January 18th) as the Sound City Players to promote the movie.
• Grohl said about the shows, "It's funny, we don't really consider this the Foo Fighters . . . we're Rick Springfield's backing band, we're John Fogerty's backing band. We're not up there playing 'Everlong' every night, we're just hoping our heroes get up on stage and play."
• As for when the next Foo Fighters album will arrive, Grohl said, "If I give you (A release date) now, it means I'll actually have to make that deadline."

CHECK IT OUT: Watch Grohl's interview with MTV News:

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DAVE GROHL AND TAYLOR HAWKINS TO INDUCT RUSH INTO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME: Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and drummer Taylor Hawkins will induct Rush into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 18th, it was announced on Wednesday
(January 23rd). Grohl and Hawkins are among the first wave of presenters unveiled for the ceremony, which will also include Don Henley inducting Randy Newman and John Mayer
inducting blues great Albert King.  Grohl and Hawkins previously inducted Queen in 2001.

MJK TALKS TOOL AND PUSCIFER: Tool singer Maynard James Keenan's side project Puscifer is gearing up for the arrival of a new EP and a round of tour dates, so the group has posted a behind-the-scenes video of themselves rehearsing for the shows. The new EP, titled Donkey Punch The Night, is slated to arrive next month, while the live shows will take place in Australia and South America. Keenan recently stated that his main band, Tool, was "halfway done" with writing the music for its long-awaited new album.

FORMER 'AMERICAN HORROR STORY' CAST MEMBER MAY RETURN FOR SEASON THREE: Taissa Farmiga is in talks to return to American Horror Story for season three of Ryan Murphy's FX series. Taissa played Violet Harmon on season one of the show.

AMC SETS RETURN FOR 'MAD MEN': AMC has set a premiere date for season six of Mad Men. The new season will debut on April 7th as a two-hour movie.

LEVI JOHNSTON BEATEN BY HIS WIFE: Former Playgirl model Levi Johnston was reportedly beaten by his wife on New Year's Eve.  Witnesses say Johnston's wife Sunny
Oglesby drank two martinis and then went crazy screaming about how Levi didn't think she was pretty enough.

POSSIBLE CHICKEN WING SHORTAGE PREDICTED FOR SUPER BOWL: The National Chicken Council has released a report that says demand for wings is at an all-time high due to
decreased wing production. The decrease in production is caused by the high cost of corn and feed prices. The council estimates 1.23-billion wing segments will be consumed during Super Bowl weekend, which is 12.3-million, or one-percent, less than last year. The council says Super Bowl is the second biggest eating day of the year, and chicken wings are the most popular dish.  The council says if all 1.23-billion chicken wing joints were laid end to end,
they would stretch between the San Francisco 49ers Candlestick Park and the Baltimore Ravens M&T Bank Stadium 27-times. (Fox News)

FIVE EASY WAYS TO SAVE MONEY ON GROCERIES (The Stir):

1) Don't buy produce pre-cut or pre-packaged. Not a new one here, I know, but how
easy is it to just reach for the box of lettuce instead of the head? Yesterday,
all produce was as produce-y as it gets: Carrots that had to be peeled; peppers
that had to be chopped; and romaine that needed shredding. Random bonus: We did
all our chopping and cutting while my daughter was taking a nap and had a lovely
little chat. Much better than typing away on our computers or zoning out to the
TV.

2) Rice, rice, rice. A little rice goes a long way. We bought a bag of rice last week, and we plan on having it as our "side" at least once a week until we run out. That's bang for your buck right there.

3) Use the pastas and grains and whatevers that are already in your cupboard.
If you're anything like me, your cupboard is filled with half-empty boxes of
pastas, rices, and weird grains that you thought you were definitely going to
get into (but didn't -- womp womp). Use them. You probably have side dishes for
weeks in there.

4) Breakfast for dinner. Eggs are cheap. And they come in twelves! Once
a week, why not do omelets or sunny-side-ups and a side of turkey bacon?

5) Plan every meal. My husband and I always say we're going to do this,
and we wind up doing it for, like, two weeks, then it's back to just randomly
shopping for food items with no clear menu in mind. Yesterday, we did it. And
we're hoping we'll do it again this weekend. Tonight's menu: Veggie fajitas
with, you guessed it, a side of rice.