Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who announced Sunday that she would be resigning from Congress, received a standing ovation from the throngs assembled in the Capitol as they gathered to hear President Barack Obama deliver his third State of the Union address. She was then given an extra-long hug from the president as he greeted those in attendence. Giffords, who was critically injured after suffering a gunshot wound at a Tucson appearance a year ago, said in a video on her website that she was stepping down to spend more time on her recovery. “Every day, my spirit is high,” she said.

An Arab League official said Tuesday that the group will suspend its monitoring mission if Syria does not accept an extension. Syria must make a decision on the Arab League’s extension by Thursday, said the official. The Gulf Arab nations pulled monitors out of Syria on Tuesday, citing the constant bloodshed—including at least 52 people who were reportedly killed on Tuesday. The 22-nation Arab League has called on President Bashar al-Assad to end the crackdown on civilians that began last March and has reportedly killed thousands. The Arab League secretary-general and the Qatari prime minister jointly wrote a letter to the United Nations on Tuesday requesting a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the league’s proposed unity agreement for Syria, an Arab League official said.

Tuesday night, President Obama began his third State of the Union by welcoming home troops from Iraq and saying that money that went to the war effort should be split between paying down the debt and “nation-building right here at home.” The president outlined plans for creating jobs in America, emphasizing "insourcing" and asking Congress to present him with tax legislation that would encourage businesses based in the U.S. to bring production back from overseas. "Our workers are the most productive on Earth, and if the playing field is level, I promise you America will always win," Obama said. He asked Congress to act on clean energy, education, immigration, tax reform for the middle class, and domestic infrastructure. Americans dissatisfied with partisan feuding aren’t all wrong, Obama said to the legislators before him: “Can you blame them for feeling a little cynical?” Obama challenged the idea that America's international influence has waned, saying, "Anyone who tells you otherwise, anyone who tells you that America is in decline ... doesn’t know what they’re talking about." Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who announced Sunday that she would be resigning from Congress, received a standing ovation before the speech.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels made Republicans regret he was not in the running for the party’s nomination with his stern rebuttal to the president’s State of the Union address Tuesday night. “We do not accept that ours will ever be a nation of haves and have-nots; we must always be a nation of haves and soon-to-haves,” Daniels said after the speech. “So 2012 is a year of true opportunity, maybe our last, to restore an America of hope and upward mobility, and greater equality.” Obama seemed to point to a politics that transcends party in his speech; Daniels said that Republicans place greater value on business than Democrats and criticized the president’s decision to nix the Keystone pipeline. Meanwhile, in the Tea Party response to Obama’s speech, Herman Cain, reading from his notes, criticized the president’s “scripted rhetoric.” He also said Washington is out of touch with the people.

Just as the U.S. starts to see stronger signs of recovery, the International Monetary Fund warns that the global economy isn’t out of the storm yet. The IMF sliced its global growth forecast from 4 percent to 3.3 percent and warned that Europe’s debt crisis continues to threaten a worldwide recession. Economic activity in advanced economies is expected to expand by a sluggish 1.5 percent, not enough to bring down high unemployment rates.

Apple continues its world domination. The tech giant announced Tuesday that its revenues increased a whopping 73 percent, bringing in $46 billion in its first fiscal quarter this year. Apple executives reported profits of more than $13 billion, which translated to $13.87 a share—more than $3 higher than Wall Street expectations. The surging revenues were the result of a busy holiday season, during which the company sold roughly 31 million iPhones, 13.5 million iPads, and 5 million computers.

This is what happens when you sit behind the president. Is Joe Biden trying to remember all the words to the Flash Gordon theme song? What else might the vice president be doing to occupy himself during the State of the Union? He looks a bit bored back there. Twitter is buzzing about something he just popped in his mouth. A mint? He’s probably just trying to stay awake. Meanwhile, Eric Cantor really isn’t happy.

The search-engine giant will push its new briefer privacy policy with an email to every Gmail account and a notice on its homepage, the company said after announcing Tuesday that a revised policy will go into effect March 1. It’s the biggest change Google has made to its privacy policy since 2010 and will involve consolidating more than 60 separate policies into one. Users buried the company in complaints two weeks ago after Google+ posts were included in search results, but the updated rules were in the works well before then, Google says. In the new guidelines, Google will make clear that information from one Google service, such as Google+, may be used in other Google services, according to Google’s director of privacy.

Time to hang up the pinstripes. Jorge Posada, with five World Series trophies by his side, said his tearful goodbyes to the Yankees on Tuesday after spending his whole career as a Bronx Bomber. “I could never wear another uniform,” said the 40-year-old Posada. “I will forever be a Yankee.” The five-time All-Star catcher ended his career in baseball with 275 home runs and a .273 batting average. Posada, along with retired teammates Bernie Williams and Andy Pettitte and active Yankees Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, led his team to four World Series wins in the late 1990s.

Demi Moore was sped to the hospital after a late-night call brought paramedics to her Los Angeles residence, TMZ reports. The 49-year-old actress was reportedly cared for by first responders in her home for half an hour before she was taken to an area hospital. Unspecified sources told TMZ that the actress is receiving treatment for substance abuse. But Moore’s representative told TMZ that the Charlie’s Angels star, who split with husband Ashton Kutcher last November, was being treated for exhaustion. “Because of the stresses in her life right now, Demi has chosen to seek professional assistance to treat her exhaustion and improve her overall health,” the rep said.

This doesn’t exactly fly off the advertising tongue. A new study has found that using “nasal packing with strips of cured pork” can cure nosebleeds. Three doctors at the Detroit Medical Center found that “cured salt pork crafted as a nasal tampon” cured a girl with a rare hereditary disorder that caused incessant nosebleeds. There is a long tradition of using pork as a deterrent to nosebleeds, but the practice has fallen out of use in modern times—most likely due to bacteria and parasite concerns. In fact, doctors in 1940, 1953, and 1976 wrote up similar findings, with the doctor in 1953 noting that the practice of using pork seemed “rather old-fashioned.”

President John F. Kennedy’s library has released the last 45 hours of his secret tapes. Kennedy recorded more than 260 hours of private meetings and phone conversations, and the final batch includes discussions of Vietnam, Soviet relations, the space race, and his reelection strategy, all in the final months of his life. He worries about the disconnect between Washington and the rest of America and about how to attract young voters. The tapes also contain moments with his children. In one recording Kennedy introduces Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko to his children, Caroline and John Jr., who can be heard playing outside the Oval Office. Referring to Nikita Khrushchev, he says, “His chief is the one who sent you Pushinka. You know that? You have the puppies.”

Italian divers found another body in the wreckage of the submerged cruise ship, the Costa Concordia, on Tuesday, bringing the official death toll up to 16. The body was found on the third-floor deck, and officials did not confirm the reports in Italian media that the body was a woman. Divers found the body as a large platform carrying a crane and other equipment hitched itself to the shipwreck as part of a preliminary operation to remove 500,000 gallons of fuel from the ship’s tank to prevent environmental disaster. Actual pumping of the fuel will begin on Saturday, in tandem with search and rescue operations. Seventeen passengers and crew members have yet to be accounted for.

The moment we’ve waited for is finally here. Mitt Romney released a preview of his tax returns to The Washington Post late Monday, revealing an income of $21.7 million in 2010 and $20.9 million in 2011. The money is reportedly all from profits, dividends, and investment interest—and none from wages. In 2010, Romney paid a 13.9 percent tax rate, or $3 million. His 2011 estimate is $3.2 million, which is about 15.4 percent, as he’s told reporters. The 550 pages show that Romney has a Swiss bank account and foreign investments in Luxembourg, Ireland, and the Cayman Islands—all are legally taxed and with little income. The candidate's overall worth is estimated to fall between $190 million and $250 million. He still makes money from his relationship with Bain Capital.

Good news for the genie, but too bad for the seven dwarfs. Disneyland has lifted its 55-year ban on beards—so long as they're shorter than a quarter of an inch. The theme park has a notoriously strict dress code, and the rules still forbid visible tattoos, body piercings, and “extreme” hairstyles. Until 2010, women couldn’t wear sleeveless tops and had to wear pantyhose with skirts. “While we are careful to maintain our heritage and the integrity of our brand, a recent review of our guidelines led to a decision that an update was appropriate at this time,” said a spokeswoman for the park. Soul patches are still banned.

The Justice Department has charged a former CIA officer with leaking classified information about the capture and interrogation of alleged terrorists, including al Qaeda suspect Abu Zubaydah. John Kiriakou, 47, was a leading member of the team that captured Zubaydah, and became the center of media attention after opening up in an ABC interview about the brutal interrogation technique of waterboarding. Kiriakou, who was released on $250,000 bond after appearing in court, is the second CIA officer and sixth person to be accused of leaks since President Obama took office—exceeding the total number under all previous administrations combined. In a statement released Monday, CIA director David Petraeus said the agency “fully supported the investigation from the beginning,” warning CIA operatives to be more tight-lipped.

As the country is focused on millionaire Mitt Romney’s very low tax rate, President Obama is preparing to use his State of the Union address to argue for “tax fairness.” Obama has called the proposal the “Buffett rule,” referring to billionaire Warren Buffett’s argument that he should pay a higher tax rate than his secretary. Buffett’s secretary, Debbie Bosanek, will sit in the House gallery during the speech as a guest of the first lady. Other teaser excerpts from the speech suggest the president will focus on fixing the economy while appealing to the middle class. In their prepared rebuttal, Republicans will condemn Obama for attacking them in Congress.

Care for some chardonnay with that latte? As if fueling our morning addiction weren’t enough, Starbucks has announced its plans to sell beer and wine in Atlanta and Southern California by the end of 2012. The world’s biggest coffee chain already sells the beverages in several cafés in Seattle and one in Portland, Oregon, attracting more patrons in the evening. “It’s just a natural place for people to connect and unwind,” Starbucks’ senior VP of U.S. operations told Reuters. Currently, beer retails for $5 and wine goes for $7 to $9. Their long-term plan is to sell beer and wine across the country, though they don’t expect to do so in every single café, which could potentially pose a safety hazard. If they offer booze at their 24-hour locations, they might end up with patrons passing out in lounge chairs only to rev up with an espresso shot the next morning.

Chinese security forces appear to be in the midst of the harshest crackdown on Tibetan protesters since 2008. Forces fired tear gas at Tibetan protesters in Sichuan province, according to an activist group, a day after forces fired on a crowd of demonstrators. At least one, and possibly as any as six people, died in Monday’s clash. China’s state news agency said one protester was killed and five police officers were injured in yesterday’s clash, which it described as a crowd of people, including monks, smashing stores along the town’s main street.

You can’t have tents in Zuccotti Park anymore, but what about igloos? Occupy protesters in Davos, Switzerland, are building an igloo village in preparation for the World Economic Forum on Wednesday. Each igloo houses two people, and protesters expect to house about 50 people in all. They’re also setting up Mongolian-style tents and a field kitchen. Meanwhile, Bloomberg points out that as Occupy Davos worked on their igloos, the 1 percent gathered next door for the annual snow polo competition.

After getting drubbed by Newt Gingrich in South Carolina, Mitt Romney is redoubling his attempt to bury him in negative advertising. The Romney super PAC Restore Our Future bought another $5 million in airtime yesterday, bringing the campaign's total investment in Florida to $13 million, a state whose size makes ads more important than previous primary states. The most recent buy includes the first negative ads run directly against Gingrich by Romney’s camp. Gingrich, fueled by another $5 million from casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, is trying to fight back, making a $145,000 buy with Fox News. In the latest sign of Romney's newly aggressive tone, he attacked Gingrich as an “influence peddler” at last night’s debate.

The Arab League observer mission in Syria is set to lose six more member countries on Sunday, as the Gulf Cooperation Council prepares to withdraw. The move comes after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad rejected the observer team’s proposal to hand over power to a deputy and form a government that includes the opposition. Assad rejected the proposal immediately as “flagrant interference.” Though the head of the team says the mission is succeeding, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported that the GCC does not want to be “false witnesses to crimes committed against civilians.” The six members of the council, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar, are urging the U.N. Security Council to take “all needed measures ... to press Syria to implement the Arab League and the Arab initiative on Syria.”

Oprah was known for spilling her secrets, but she’s got nothing on this guy. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, infamous for his revelations of sensitive classified information and for his elusive, mysterious persona, is launching a TV show. According to a statement from WikiLeaks, the program will “draw together controversial voices from across the political spectrum—iconoclasts, visionaries, and power insiders—each to offer a window on the world tomorrow.” The statement didn’t give any specifics on how the show would be produced or released.

Now that everyone has a better idea of just how much money Mitt Romney actually has, he doesn't need to make measly $10,000 bets for the public’s benefit—he can just go all out. The latest email from the Romney campaign offers supporters a $1.6 million reward for the person who can present Newt Gingrich’s contract with Freddie Mac. Romney has accused Gingrich of lobbying for the federal mortgage firm, but Gingrich insists he was hired to help as a historian. While the Gingrich camp did release a contract from 2006, the memo says that this “covers just one year of his multiple years of service and documents only $300,000 of the $1.6 million he received from the mortgage company.”

Looks like things could get awkward at the Republican National Convention. Sarah Palin said Monday night that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had “gotten his panties in a wad” in a “rookie mistake” when Christie called Newt Gingrich “an embarrassment.” “Poor Chris,” Palin said on Fox Business News. Palin said Christie, a first-term governor, had yet to learn that reporters will try to “goad” him into making comments that will end up playing into the hands of Democrats if Gingrich is the nominee. Palin has not endorsed any candidate yet, although her husband, Todd has endorsed Gingrich. Christie is one of the Republican party’s best-known tough talkers, but his spokesman said Tuesday that the governor will not be responding to Palin’s comments.

A snowstorm has caused rockslides in Yosemite National Park, killing one park worker and causing the major route into the park to be closed. Part-time ranger Ryan Hiller, 27, was killed Saturday when the strong winds from the snowstorm caused a tree to fall on his tent in the employee housing area of the park. Other trees fell around the park, shutting down a main roadway into the park, but the park remained open.

The FBI has arrested three police officers and a sergeant in East Haven, Conn., amid widespread allegations that their department treated racial minorities unfairly. The department has been under investigation after myriad accusations that police harassed Hispanic residents with false arrests and predatory traffic stops. The officers were charged with deprivation of rights, conspiracy against rights, and obstruction. The Justice Department said in a report that the officers had deliberately targeted Latinos for harassment and that there were “serious deficiencies” in the way the East Haven department was run.

Mitt Romney is avoiding discussing his harsh stances on green cards and the DREAM Act while in Florida—home to 450,000 Hispanic Republicans—and is banking on the hope that the state's Latino voters care more about jobs and the economy than immigration. Luckily for Romney, this hope might not be far off, as Hispanics in Florida largely hail from Cuba and are less concerned with immigration law. They have, for decades, been automatically granted residency after one year in the U.S. Cuban-Americans are, however, concerned about unemployment, which affects 9.9 percent of Florida's citizens—particularly Hispanics—compared with 8.5 percent of all Americans. Still, it's expected that Newt Gingrich's lighter stance on immigration can only help him against Romney in Florida. 

Get those envelopes ready—the Oscar nominations are in. The Help, The Descendants, and Hugo picked up the most nods, and favorite comedy Bridesmaids scored two major nominations. Hugo led the pack, with 11 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, with The Artist not far behind with 10 nods. The Help’s Octavia Spencer, Viola Davis, and Jessica Chastain were all shortlisted for acting, and the movie is in the running for Best Picture, along with eight others: The Descendants, War Horse, The Artist, Moneyball, The Tree of Life, Midnight in Paris, The Help, Hugo, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. The raunchy Bridesmaids got a piece of the action as well with two major nominations: Best Supporting Actress for Melissa McCarthy and Best Original Screenplay by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo.

Harry Burkhart, a suspected serial arsonist connected to nearly 50 fires in Los Angeles, will be charged Tuesday afternoon with 100 counts. Burkhart, a German citizen, is believed to have set a string of fires that shocked the L.A. area over a four-day period in early January. L.A. police said they believed the 24-year-old Burkhart was motivated by anti-American rage after federal officials imprisoned his mother, who was facing deportation.

Stay away from the flare. The strongest solar storm since 2005 has forced Delta airlines to reroute flights between the U.S. and Asia to avoid any chance of impact. The solar flare began Sunday night and will likely continue through Wednesday, with Delta expecting to continue the reroutes through Tuesday. Radiation may cause satellite disruptions or communication problems for polar-traveling airplanes, but its effects on the ground will be negligible. In 1989 a solar storm caused a massive blackout in Quebec, and last October a freak storm caused auroras to be seen as far south as Alabama.

Newt Gingrich has almost totally closed the gap between himself and Mitt Romney in national polls. According to Gallup, Gingrich has surged in the past week, erasing Romney's 23-point lead over the former speaker. Not only has Gingrich gained 14 points, but Romney has dropped 8. Republicans seem to be gravitating toward the former underdog, as the majority of Gingrich's new support has been from conservatives.