Opposition groups in Syria reported that at least 32 people were killed on Tuesday, adding to a death toll that was estimated by the United Nations to be more than 5,000. The clashes came amid a backdrop of increasing sectarian tensions in Homs between the Sunni Muslim majority and the Alawite minority, a sect from which a majority of Assad’s leadership comes. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 19 people were killed by Assad’s security forces in the northern province of Idlib, near the Turkish border, while seven security forces were killed in retaliation for shooting antigovernment protesters earlier in the day. Five civilians were killed in Homs, which has been a central point of violence in the region.

Two journalists were fired and a third resigned from a well-known newsmagazine in Russia on Tuesday after it published a controversial cover over the weekend. The magazine, Kommersant Vlast, pictured Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin standing next to a ballot box with scribbling on it and a caption that suggested Putin should step down. The firings came as tensions continued to rise between the Kremlin and Russian citizens over the legitimacy of recent parliamentary elections. Kommersant Vlast reported on several instances of election fraud. Thousands gathered in Moscow to protest the legitimacy of the elections and calling for new elections. President Dmitri Medvedev shrugged off such suggestions, however, saying Parliament would hold its first session beginning Dec. 21.

Who says Congress can’t get anything done? By a vote of 234 to 193, the House passed a measure to push Social Security payroll-tax cuts. Republican House Speaker John Boehner announced that the new legislature "extends the payroll tax relief, extends and reforms unemployment insurance and protects Social Security - without the job-killing tax hikes." Though Obama wanted the tax cuts, the White House has said the President  will kill the plan when he has the chance, because it also pushes for the construction of the controversial Keystone oil pipeline. Now the Senate will vote on it—though Dems oppose the pipeline.

In parliamentary hearings on Tuesday, James Murdoch insisted that a crucial email sent to him regarding the pervasiveness of phone hacking at News of the World went unread. But his testimony may not be so credible, as evidence shows Murdoch actually replied to the email—in which an editor confided that phone hacking at the paper had escalated beyond one reporter—within three minutes of receiving it. Murdoch blames it on his Blackberry, saying he did not read the full contents of the mail. Over the weekend, The Guardian, which had fueled the News of the World controversy with a story this summer about journalists who had deleted messages from a disappeared girl’s phone—giving her parents false hope that she was alive—ran a belated correction, noting evidence that shows News of the World was not responsible for the deleted messages.

Is this another sign of implosion? There are signs of fissures in the Newt Gingrich campaign as Craig Bergman, the frontrunner’s new political director, has resigned after making controversial remarks against Mormons.  “A lot of the evangelicals believe God would give us four more years of Obama just for the opportunity to expose the cult of Mormon,” Bergman said during a focus group to Iowan Republicans on Wednesday. The Gingrich campaign said Bergman had “agreed to step away from his role with Newt 2012.” A similar anti-Mormon remark by a pastor close to Rick Perry contributed to derailing his campaign, when Robert Jeffress called Mormonism a “cult.” Meanwhile, Gingrich hit 40 percent for the first time in a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, a seemingly commanding lead in the GOP race.

Accused child molester and former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky waived his right to a pretrial hearing to determine if there was enough evidence for the charges against him. The rural Pennsylvania courthouse was packed in the early morning with journalists, who the judge ruled on Monday can text, tweet, and email during the hearing. Sandusky faces more than 50 criminal counts relating to the alleged sexual assaults over 15 years of 10 boys in his home, the Penn State property, and elsewhere. Sandusky, 67, has long proclaimed his innocence, and his lawyer said that the former coach plans on pleading not guilty on all charges. Sandusky's plea on Tuesday came as somewhat of a surprise, after his lawyer, Joe Amendola, said Monday that his client was "looking forward" to facing his accusers.

Does this mean Stephen Colbert‘s debate is off too? Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is bowing out as moderator of the Dec. 27 Republican presidential debate in Iowa. The debate had been in jeopardy since only Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum had agreed to attend, and Jon Huntsman and Ron Paul had said they believe the whole thing would be a spectacle. In a statement, Trump said he still believed “this would have been not only the most watched debate, but also the most substantive and interesting debate.” Trump said he would make a decision about running as a third-party candidate after the season finale of The Apprentice, when his show would not be shut out due to rules requiring that all candidates be given equal time on a network.

The National Transportation Safety Board wants you to hang up and drive—and it’s recommending that states pass laws to make you do it. The board recommended a nationwide ban on the use of personal electronic devices while driving, coming to the conclusion after investigating a massive crash caused by a texting driver. The investigation found that a deadly pileup in Grey Summit, Mo., last year began with a pickup driver who sent 11 texts in the 11 minutes immediately before the first collision. The board doesn’t have the power to set regulations, but its recommendations carry weight with federal regulators and state lawmakers.

The Los Angeles Times announced Tuesday that its editor, Russ Stanton, would step down Dec. 23. Stanton, who has served as the paper’s editor and executive vice president over the last four years, will be replaced by managing editor Davan Maharaj. The 52-year-old Stanton began his career with the Times as a business reporter in Orange County in 1997. During his tenure, the Times won three Pulitzer Prizes and helped the paper reach 17 million readers through its online platform. But the paper also cut nearly 400 newsroom jobs during Stanton’s reign, bringing its total to around 550 today. The paper’s daily circulation has also dropped, much like the rest of the industry. It now has 573,000 daily subscribers.

The former Today host quit the anchor chair at CBS Evening News earlier this year and is now reshuffling her personal life, as well. Reps for Katie Couric confirmed Tuesday that she was splitting up with the 37-year-old Brooks Perlin, her boyfriend of five years. When they began dating in 2006, Couric and Perlin made headlines for the 17-year gap between their ages. Perlin is the CFO of Eco Supply Center, which distributes eco-friendly building materials. Sources said Couric initiated the breakup and Perlin was said to be moving out of her Upper East Side condo in New York.

The Republican primary may be a circus, but it’s not making lots of swing-state voters feel better about President Obama. According to a new CBS/Gallup poll, the two leading GOP candidates, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, would beat Obama in every swing state, including Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Romney leads by 5 percent, and Gingrich by 2 percent. But do polls matter this far out? An NBC/Marist poll shows Obama with a comfortable lead over both GOP candidates in Florida and South Carolina.

Long Island police said Tuesday they had found remains they believe to be those of Shannan Gilbert, the New Jersey woman whose disappearance sparked the search for a serial killer in the area. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said they will not know for sure if the remains are Gilbert’s until it is confirmed by a medical examiner. Gilbert’s mother, Mari, said she is not convinced the body is her daughter's, and added that if the remains are not Shannan's, then “we have another victim.” Although Gilbert’s disappearance on Oak Beach, Long Island, led police to believe the case involved a serial killer, they no longer believe the case is related to 10 other victims, five of whom have been identified.

This is all shaping up to make a great plot for an episode of 30 Rock. The latest turn in the Alec Baldwin–airplane brouhaha has the Association of Professional Flight Attendants asking American Airlines to ban 30 Rock from future flights. The group spokesman says it will consider rescinding its demand “if and only if Mr. Baldwin publicly apologizes to American Airlines flight attendants.” American Airlines says it has discussed the issue with the union and that currently the show will air on some flights and not on others, as is normal.

If conservative voters sense something’s not quite right about Mitt Romney’s 2012 pitch, they’re onto something. In a new video that shows Romney talking to reporters during his 2002 gubernatorial campaign, Romney makes the opposite of the case for himself that he’s currently making to GOP voters. “I think people recognize that I'm not a partisan Republican, that I'm someone who is moderate, and my views are progressive,” he says.

One of the gay African penguins at the Toronto Zoo, Buddy, has mated with a female. The coupling comes after he was separated from Pedro, the male bird with whom he had built a nest. Buddy and Pedro became famous for their cohabitation, but zoo officials separated them because the African penguin is an endangered species and therefore the two need to produce offspring. Pedro has yet to find a mate, but it turns out that Buddy’s female friend is not his first: the 21-year-old bird had a mate for 10 years before shacking up with Pedro. The two will rejoin the general population once Pedro finds a female mate.

A man who was rushed to the hospital after being shot in the head last Friday by a crazed gunman at a Hollywood intersection died on Monday. John Atterberry, a music executive who was formerly the vice president of Death Row Records, was driving near Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street when he was shot three times in the head by the gunman, who was then shot dead by police. Atterberry, who worked with big-name musicians including Tupac, Snoop Dogg, and Michael Jackson, was driving a Mercedes-Benz coupe when he was hit. The gunman has since been identified as Tyler Brehm, 26. Brehm had reportedly broken up with his longtime girlfriend days before the shooting. His ex-girlfriend told a local news station that he was “stressed out” and taking prescription drugs after the breakup.

Washington Mutual’s implosion in 2008 was the biggest bank collapse in U.S. history—are the executives who ran it getting off easy? The FDIC charged three WaMu executives with gross negligence in a civil lawsuit; however, according to The Wall Street Journal, the FDIC is now willing to settle with them for less than 10 percent of the $900 million it originally sought—less than $75 million. Most of that money will be paid not by the executives themselves but by WaMu’s insurers and estates. The Journal says it’s a “setback” for the FDIC. Still, it is one of the largest settlements since the financial crisis began.

Mitt Romney took a series of shots at Newt Gingrich Monday, starting with a television interview in which he called on Newt to return the $1.6 million he received from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Newt fired back, saying he’d return the money “if Governor Romney would like to give back all the money he’s earned bankrupting companies and laying off employees over his years [at Bain Capital].” Romney didn’t take up Newt’s offer, instead arguing there is “a big difference between working in the private economy and working on K Street and working as a lobbyist or working as a legislator or working to connect businesses with government.” In another sign of Romney’s nervousness, he has deployed his wife, Ann, to the campaign trail, where she has been saying things like “He is steadfast … He won’t abandon you in the hardest times”—a line she insists is not meant as a comparison to Newt’s three marriages.

Faced with allegations of voter fraud, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s United Russia Party held a rally in Moscow Monday. Unfortunately, what should have been a hit back at the successful anti-Kremlin protests over the weekend was actually a dud. The New York Times reports that attendance at the rally was “sparse” and not enough to fill the space reserved. Even worse, some of the “supporters” confessed to being forced to come to the rally to make Putin look better on television. The hits keep coming for Putin: first his party lost its majority in the elections, then anti-Kremlin protests over the weekend brought an estimated 40,000 to revolt, and this morning billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov announced he was running for president.

Canada is leading the way—out of the Kyoto Protocol. The nation is using its legal right to withdraw from the 1997 treaty to end global warming. At the time, Canada’s Liberal government accepted the protocol, but the Conservatives have never used it. Last year, the nation—along with Russia and Japan—said it would not accept new details of the agreement. On Sunday, climate talks in South Africa led to 200 countries striking a deal that will pave the way for a new treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol in 2015. Canada saves what would be $14 billion in fines for not meeting the regulations of the pact.

Occupy protesters in Oakland shut down the city’s port on Monday, a move that prompted the port to cancel all overnight shifts. Protesters along the West Coast targeted ports in a move they said was meant to hurt Goldman Sachs, which owns a stake in the largest cargo-terminal operator. In Portland, Ore., protesters also succeeded in partially shutting down the city’s port. “What has this accomplished? This is disrupting the 99 percent,” Oakland port spokesman Isaac Kos-Read told CNN. Oakland Mayor Jean Quan agreed: “They are saying ... they have to get the attention of the ruling class. I think the ruling class is probably laughing and people in this city will be crying this Christmas.”

Nine months after Syria’s uprising began, at least 5,000 people have died, according to the United Nations’ latest estimate. The death toll includes at least 300 children. The new estimate comes as local elections are being held in Syria. Opposition, however, has called for a boycott of the election, and turnout is expected to be very low due to fears of violence.

Chelsea Clinton made her journalistic debut on Monday with a segment on Brian Williams’s Rock Center about child poverty in Arkansas. How’d she do? The Washington Post’s Hank Stuever gave a harsh assessment: “What was surprising to see on Monday night’s show is how someone can be on TV in such a prominent way and, in her big moment, display so very little charisma—none at all,” he wrote, calling her “one of the most boring people of her era.” Politico was more positive, saying Clinton appeared “poised and well prepared, though a bit nervous.” The Daily Beast's Howard Kurtz's verdict: "If she can loosen up a bit, this could be a pretty good niche."

Four soldiers were killed at Washington state’s Joint Base Lewis-McChord Monday night after two Army helicopters crashed. It was not clear whether the two aircraft crashed into each other or crashed separately, but the helicopters were on a training mission at the time. Meanwhile, early Tuesday morning, a U.S. military drone also crashed at a Seychelles airport, causing no injuries. The cause of the crash is unknown and is under investigation.

The U.S. on Tuesday froze $700 million in aid to Pakistan, waiting for Islamabad to guarantee that it is working to squash the use of homemade bombs by the Taliban before Washington hands over the money. A senior Pakistani official has urged the U.S. to reconsider, arguing that cutting aid would only fuel the country’s sense of anti-Americanism. Pakistani officials have questioned the country’s relations with the U.S. since a recent NATO friendly-fire strike killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

Jon Corzine had better come up with an explanation for MF Global’s missing millions, and fast, because U.S. lawmakers are losing patience. The Senate Agriculture Committee is holding its second hearing this week in an effort to investigate just how futures firm MF Global collapsed and exactly what happened to all of its customers’ money. Corzine, the firm’s chief, continues to insist he has no idea where the money went, and lawmakers are getting frustrated. “This isn’t the Dark Ages. MF Global didn’t keep their books with feather quills and dusty ledgers. The rules about keeping customer money segregated are pretty straightforward,” said Agriculture Committee chairwoman Debbie Stabenow.

At least four people are dead and 123 wounded following a deadly gun and grenade attack in the city of Liege, Belgium, on Tuesday. Police identified the attacker as Nordine Amrani, and they believe he acted alone. Amrani also reportedly threw two grenades into a crowded square from a rooftop before killing himself. Amrani was scheduled to go to the police station to be questioned about charges against him. He had a rifle, gun, and three grenades on him. The public prosecutor said terrorism was not a cause.

Look out, Newt Gingrich: the dark horse is about to overtake you in Iowa. Ron Paul has evaporated Gingrich’s lead from 9 percent to just 1 percent in a new Public Policy Polling survey. Gingrich came out with 22 percent in the poll to Paul’s 21 percent and Mitt Romney’s 16 percent. That wasn’t the only bad news for Newt: his favorability rating with Tea Party voters plunged from 35 percent down to 24 percent. Paul’s overall favorability soared to 61 percent. According to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, Romney has fallen well behind Gingrich, who has 40 percent of GOP votes compared to Romney's 23 percent.

Not your average piece of news for a Tuesday. Scientists said they have narrowed down their search for the so-called God particle, or the Higgs boson, the particle believed to be the basic building block of the universe. Researchers from two independent labs associated with CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Energy, based in Switzerland, said the particle is more likely to be found in lower mass or energy ranges from the massive atom smasher used to track it down. Italian physicist Fabiola Gianotti, who heads the team running one of the experiments, said there are indications of Higgs’s existence and that, with enough data, it could either be unambiguously discovered or ruled out next year.