1.
News Analysis
Weary Obama at Break, Hoping for a Breakthrough
By JACKIE CALMES
At a news conference, President Obama held out hope for a better year but suggested little strategy for achieving once-ambitious goals.
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2.
New Health Law Frustrates Many in Middle Class
By KATIE THOMAS, REED ABELSON and JO CRAVEN McGINTY
While the Affordable Care Act clearly benefits those at the low and high ends of the income scale, many middle-class Americans don’t qualify for health care subsidies, and are facing steep premium prices.
3.
Op-Ed Columnist
‘Duck Dynasty’ and Quackery
By CHARLES M. BLOW
The “aw, shucks” version of intolerance is the worst kind.
4.
Under Seattle, a Big Object Blocks Bertha. What Is It?
By KIRK JOHNSON
Something unknown, engineers say, has blocked the progress of the biggest-diameter tunnel-boring machine in use on the planet.
5.
Harry Reid Is Hospitalized
By JEREMY W. PETERS
Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, fell ill Friday morning and went to the hospital as a precaution, a spokesman said.
6.
Op-Ed Contributor
Having a Servant Is Not a Right
By ANANYA BHATTACHARYYA
India’s outrage at the treatment of a diplomat who underpaid her housekeeper points up its complicity in an exploitative system.
7.
N.S.A. Spied on Allies, Aid Groups and Businesses
By JAMES GLANZ and ANDREW W. LEHREN
Secret documents reveal more than 1,000 targets of U.S. and British surveillance in recent years, including the office of an Israeli prime minister and heads of international aid organizations.
8.
Your Money
Weighing Health Plans: The Devilish Details
By TARA SIEGEL BERNARD
As a deadline approaches, more people are trying to figure out the intricate cost-sharing arrangements of various options.
9.
Federal Judge Rules That Same-Sex Marriage Is Legal in Utah
By ERIK ECKHOLM
The judge said that Utah’s amendment barring same-sex marriage violated the United States Constitution. If the ruling is upheld, Utah will become the 18th state to permit same-sex marriage.
10.
4 Suspects Held in Fatal Carjacking at Mall
By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ
The men are charged in the death of Dustin J. Friedland, a lawyer who was killed in front of his wife after shopping at the Mall at Short Hills in Millburn.
11.
Yemen Deaths Test Claims of New Drone Policy
By MARK MAZZETTI and ROBERT F. WORTH
The reported deaths of innocent people in a wedding procession this month illuminated the reality behind the Obama administration’s new drone policy.
12.
Editorial
Mr. Obama’s Disappointing Response
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
In his news conference, the president, yet again, offers little more than bland reassurances on the government’s runaway surveillance policy.
13.
Op-Ed Columnist
Civic Break for the Holidays
By GAIL COLLINS
Congress gave all Americans a great Christmas gift: No government shutdowns for the next two years. Now we can rest easy until next year.
14.
Ned Vizzini, 32, Dies; Wrote Teenage Novels
By WILLIAM YARDLEY
Mr. Vizzini addressed depression and other adolescent issues in works like “It’s Kind of a Funny Story.”
15.
Freed Abruptly by Putin, Khodorkovsky Arrives in Germany
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN and STEVEN LEE MYERS
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s richest man, flew to Berlin on a private jet after President Vladimir V. Putin signed a decree pardoning him early Friday.
16.
The Lede
A Twitter Message About AIDS, Africa and Race
By ASHLEY SOUTHALL
A message from the Twitter account of Justine Sacco, InterActiveCorp’s public relations director, was criticized as being in questionable taste.
17.
Op-Ed Columnist
The Tragic Situation
By DAVID BROOKS
The complex and tragic nature of Israel’s situation deserves a robust and realistic moral assessment.
18.
One-Handed Basketball Player Gets a Shot With Florida
By MIKE TIERNEY
Despite being born without a left hand and forearm, Zach Hodskins has a guaranteed roster spot with the Florida Gators next season, an affirmation of his basketball skill.
19.
Setting the Table for a Regal Butterfly Comeback, With Milkweed
By MICHAEL WINES
Conservationists have planted milkweed, a favored food of the butterfly, along migratory routes where natural habitat has been plowed under for crops.
20.
No Literary Horse Race, Just Books We Like
By JANET MASLIN
Three critics of The New York Times tick off their favorite books of the year.
