Talk about having a tough case to make. The defense lawyer for the so-called subway pusher says his client may have been justified in his actions because the man he allegedly shoved was drunk and harassing him. The suspect, Naeem Davis, appeared in court Tuesday, but did not speak. Davis’s lawyer, Stephen Pokart, argued that multiple witnesses say the victim, Ki-Suck Han, smelled of alcohol and was staggering and following Davis. Han’s wife had also reported that the couple had been in a fight earlier that day. “If he pushed to get him away from him, it may have been justified,” Mr. Pokart said. “Unfortunately, it appears that the push was too hard and he fell off the platform.” The case will be put before a grand jury by next Tuesday.

Bamboozled? North Korea launched a long-range rocket Wednesday morning local time, despite announcing earlier this week that it will push back deployment until the end of December. The launch was confirmed by South Korea’s defense ministry, and officials say it is now in orbit. While North Korea claims the rocket is an exploratory bid to put a satellite into space, critics say its true goal is to experiment with technology that could lead to mounting a nuclear warhead on a long-range missile. Both Japan and South Korea put their armed forces on high alert, though Japan did not make an attempt to intercept the missile, as they had suggested they would. A senior U.S. official said Washington has "noted" the launch and is monitoring the situation.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in recovery following a successful cancer operation Tuesday night, according to his vice president. Although details on the severity of Chavez’s cancer have not been revealed, Vice President Nicolas Maduro says the surgery—which took place in Cuba—was both “complex” and successful. On Saturday, Chavez announced he would be having the operation after tests revealed “some malignant cells” in his pelvic region where tumors were removed earlier in the year. Today’s surgery is the fourth operation Chavez has undergone to combat cancer since June 2011.

Is a transition of power in Syria approaching? The U.S. joined the U.K. and France Tuesday in recognizing the Syrian Opposition Council (SOC) as a legitimate organization representing the Syrian people. Earning the support of these major world powers helps pave the way for the swift creation of a new political structure when Bashar al Assad’s regime falls. Furthermore, the recognition means an influx of humanitarian support can be better targeted to reach the 2.5 million Syrians displaced by the fighting.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has reportedly signed the controversial bill banning mandatory union membership Tuesday night. The move comes after a day of protests against the new law outside the capitol building. As anger escalated among the 10,000 protesters in Lansing, police donning riot gear arrived with pepper spray, which was used on at least one activist. Police also arrested two demonstrators, and surrounded the Romney State Office Building.

At least two people were shot dead Tuesday night after a gunman opened fire inside the Clackamas Town Center in Oregon. The suspect, who police are confirming died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, was seen wearing a mask and wielding a AR-15 semiautomatic gun before he began shooting inside the shopping center, killing two shoppers and injuring an unknown number of victims. Police say the shooter has now been “neutralized” and is no longer at large within the mall. “The scene outside as I was leaving was just chaos,” a witness toldThe Oregonian. “Police were everywhere, people were crying and screaming, and we still don’t know exactly why this all happened.”

Lifetime Movie Channel, take notes—this is muy bueno material. Here’s the rundown: Karima El Mahroug is the key witness in the Silvio Berlusconi sex trial. Berlusconi is accused of paying her for sex when she was underage. El Mahroug was supposed to testify Monday, but went missing. El Mahroug—who’s better known by her stage name, “Ruby the Heartstealer”—was discovered in Mexico Tuesday. Ms. Heartstealer has alerted her lawyer that she is in Mexico with her boyfriend and baby, and will not return to Milan until January, thank you very much. Berlusconi denies the charges, and El Mahroug, now 20, says she never had sex with him.

And we’re just hearing about this now?! Spotted in space two days ago, an asteroid whipped by Earth earlier this morning within 140,000 miles of our planet (about 60 percent of the distance between the Earth and moon). Though the rock was only 72-160 feet in diameter—a baby compared to the six-mile-wide asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs and roughly half of life on earth 65 million years ago—a direct collision could have been disastrous. The three-mile-wide Toutatis asteroid, which flies by our planet every four years, is currently some 37 milliion miles away from Earth and expected to pass by on Wednesday. Here’s hoping the Mayans weren’t right about that whole end-of-the-world-thing after all.

India's beloved sitar maestro Ravi Shankar passed away at age 92 in San Diego Tuesday night. The legendary musician was a classical-music ambassador, and is known for bringing traditional Indian music to Western audiences. Shankar remained an active musician until his final days, and was even nominated this year for a Grammy. Shankar—who is also musician Norah Jones’s father—was admitted to the hospital last Thursday after complaining of breathing difficulties.

Baby Bush Hager for president, 2062? Jenna Bush Hager, the daughter of George W. and Laura Bush, is expecting her first child, she announced Wednesday morning. The Today show correspondent announced her pregnancy on the show, saying "it's something I've always wanted." Grandparenthood has been a long time coming for the former first couple, Jenna told People last year. “I don’t have any children. I just have a cat, to my parents’ dismay. My dad saw my husband’s boss at a conference, and he said to stop paying my husband until we produce children.”

To be fair, it would make a great movie. Anti-virus pioneer John McAfee has sold the film rights to his life story as he is wanted for questioning in Belize for a murder. McAfee was arrested last week in Guatemala as police in Belize have sought to question him in the murder of his neighbor. He has trusted his life story to the Montreal-based TV producer Impact Future Media, the cofounder confirmed in a statement Monday. The project is tentatively titled Running in the Background: The True Story of John McAfee.

The U.S. Treasury announced it would sell its remaining shares in the once-crippled insurance giant, AIG. After unloading the more than 234 million shares it still owns at $32.50 per share, the Treasury will bring in $7.6 billion and its share of the company’s common stock will drop to zero. AIG was 92 percent owned by the government in the beginning of 2011. All told, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury have made $22.7 billion on their combined $182.3 billion in aid to AIG.

In Kathryn Bigelow’s upcoming chronicle of the nearly decade-long hunt for Osama bin Laden, Zero Dark Thirty, the real-life CIA agent at the center of the film has led a more complicated career than the one portrayed. The operative, a bullheaded agent in her 30s, played a crucial role in the capture of bin Laden. Yet shortly after the mission she was passed over for a promotion many adamantly believed she deserved. While colleagues say Jessica Chastain, who plays the character Maya (not the agent's real name), accurately captured her “dedication” and “combative temperament,” jealousy over her fame led to internal friction within the agency. The woman, still undercover, is not allowed to talk to journalists. The CIA declined to comment.

A 73-year-old man was sentenced on Monday to life in prison for the kidnapping and murder of Maria Ridulph in 1957—putting an end to what is believed to be the nation’s oldest cold case to be put to trial and result in a conviction. Jack Daniel McCullough, who was 17 at the time of the murder, claimed on Monday that he was framed by corrupt police and prosecutors. McCullough, who went by John Tessier in 1957, was questioned in the early days of the case, but was never considered a suspect since he said he had been receiving a physical for the Air Force at the time of the murder.

Maybe the holiday spirit—or a sense of impending doom—is finally getting through to them. Budget talks between House Speaker John Boehner and President Obama have taken a promising turn, sources close to the process tell The Wall Street Journal.  Apparently, negotiations between the leaders have become more serious in recent days, as both Boehner and the White House are reportedly beginning to feel increasing pressure over the impending fiscal cliff. Another big change? Both sides have agreed to stop tattling on each other. A strict public moratorium on public commenting is now being followed on both sides—a sign experts say means the bargaining is only just beginning.

Thanks for clearing that up. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said Monday at an event at Princeton University that it is “effective” to compare laws that ban bestiality and murder to those that ban homosexuality. “It’s a form of argument that I thought you would have known, which is called the ‘reduction of the absurd,’” Scalia told questioner Duncan Hosie, a freshman at Princeton. “If we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality, can we have it against murder? Can we have it against other things?” Scalia also insisted the Constitution isn’t a “living document,” saying that “my Constitution is a flexible one”—and noting that there is nothing in the document about abortion and the death penalty, leaving those decisions “up to the citizens.” 

Hope he used that time to think. Republican strategist Karl Rove returned to Fox News on Monday night after a 27-day absence, reportedly caused by his Election Night meltdown. Rove appeared on Special Report with Bret Baier to discuss the implications of the looming fiscal cliff with Democratic strategist Joe Trippi, a fellow Fox News contributor. Rove did not address his absence. He was last seen on the network on Nov. 13, but has reportedly been kept off the air in an effort to make the major faces of the Republican Party less visible on the network.

Fans of singer Jenni Rivera held a vigil outside her parents’ Los Angeles home on Monday night. Rivera’s brother, meanwhile, said that although he knew there is a “95 percent chance” she is dead, “we still have hope that she is alive.” Rivera, 43, has not been confirmed dead by the Mexican government, but the plane carrying her and six others crashed and there were no survivors. Rivera performed Saturday night in Monterrey, Mexico, and appeared happy and tranquil at a press conference after the show. Hours later, she boarded a small passenger plane, which lost contact with air traffic controllers about 10 minutes into the flight.

Would you like that in jacksons or benjamins? HSBC will be forced to pay an astounding $1.9 billion to settle a money-laundering probe by federal and state authorities in the U.S., sources revealed Monday. The probe stemmed from the transfer of billions of dollars by HSBC on behalf of countries like Iran, which were under economic sanctions. Also involved was the transfer of money through U.S. financial systems by Mexican drug cartels. The breakdown of the settlement includes $1.25 billion in forfeiture, the largest ever in a case involving a bank, and an additional $655 million in civil penalties. HSBC was accused of violating the Bank Secrecy Act and the Trading With the Enemy Act.

It’s not a good sign when this happens. In Mali’s second coup d’état in 12 months, the prime minister was arrested by the military. Shortly after being taken from his home, Prime Minister Cheikh Modibo Diarra surfaced on television to say that his government was resigning. The West African nation’s military has said that the leader had been “playing a personal agenda” as Islamists took over in the north. While the capital city, Bamako, was calm, the recent upheaval is seen as a step back for the troubled nation.

That isn’t code for “rehab.” The tale of the fashionable IKEA monkey—which The Daily Beast dubbed “the simian sartorialist”—takes a new spin: Darwin’s in a sanctuary! After being snatched from his owners, the 7-month-old rhesus macaque will now take residence at the Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary. It’s actually illegal to have a pet monkey in Toronto. It’s unclear whether he’ll still be able to wear his tiny shearling coat.

Nine people were injured on Tuesday when masked gunmen opened fire and threw gas bombs at the protesters in Tahrir Square—while President Mohamed Morsi’s main opposition called for more demonstrations in the wake of the constitutional vote this weekend. For the first time since protests started on Nov. 23, police cars surrounded the capital, and supporters of Morsi’s Islamist regime began arriving in the area. Protests erupted after Morsi announced plans to ban all legal opposition, and although he has backtracked on that decree, demonstrations have continued as the government prepares for a snap referendum on the Constitution.

Does Virgin want to get in on the “doesn’t ever leave the airport” jokes? Delta Airlines announced plans on Tuesday to buy a 49 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic for $360 million from Singapore Airlines. The deal is still subject to U.S. regulatory clearance. Singapore Airlines bought a 49 percent stake in Virgin for £600 million in 1999, but the last 12 years have been disappointing, and the sale indicates a move toward refocusing on Asia.

Did the week on food stamps slow Cory Booker down? New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie got his first Democratic challenger in the 2013 race—and it’s not the popular Newark mayor. Barbara Buono, a state senator, filed papers on Tuesday to run against Christie, saying she will be hitting the Republican governor on “trickle-down economics,” scapegoating teachers, and pushing tax cuts for millionaires, according to a Web video released Monday. Buono has hired David Axelrod’s old firm, AKPD, to handle the campaign. While Booker has expressed interest in running in the past, he has not formally announced his candidacy yet—although he indicated over the weekend that he could make a decision within the next two weeks.

Nikki Haley must be getting lots of holiday cards this year—but not from Stephen Colbert. The South Carolina governor has narrowed down the list for Sen. Jim DeMint’s replacement to five people, sources close to her office said on Tuesday. On the list: Rep. Tim Scott, Rep. Trey Gowdy, former state attorney general Henry McMaster, attorney Catherine Templeton and former South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford. But South Carolina native son Stephen Colbert did not make the cut, despite his push on his show Monday night for his candidacy—and a Public Policy poll that put him at the top of voters’ wish list.

Nelson Mandela is being treated for a lung infection, the office of the current president, Jacob Zuma, confirmed on Tuesday. The 94-year-old former South African president was hospitalized on Saturday and is responding to treatment, said presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj. On Monday, Mandela’s wife, Graça Machel, said in a television appearance that seeing her husband suffer with age is “something which pains you.” “This spirit and this sparkle, you see somehow it’s fading,” she said. Mandela was last hospitalized in February, when he was treated for abdominal pain.

Boehner to Obama: ball’s in your court. Speaking publicly for the first time since a face-to-face meeting with Obama Sunday, House Speaker John Boehner urged President Obama to lay out specific spending cuts to accompany the White House's demand for tax increases on the wealthy. Boehner’s move is in effort to shift the fiscal cliff debates away from the issue of tax rates and into a territory that Republicans are more comfortable with. Echoing his frustrated “we're nowhere” mantra, Boehner expressed a familiar dissatisfaction. “The longer the White House slow walks this process, the closer our economy gets to the fiscal cliff,” he said.

Eeeets aliiiive! There now exists a fish with legs, thanks to genetic researchers who worked feverishly for years to re-create the evolutionary step that moved life from water to land 300 million years ago. According to a paper published in the scientific journal Developmental Cell, researchers have discovered that by altering part of a zebra fish’s gene cluster called HOXD13, they were able to create limb abnormalities. Researchers manipulated the gene cluster so that fins grew into legs resembling those on terapods. Fishing just got a lot more interesting.

The London nurse who allegedly took her own life after connecting a hoax call from two Australians DJ's left a suicide note, according to the London Evening Standard. The note—the contents of which are still unknown—was written for Saldanha's husband, Benedict Barboza, and her children, Junal, 17, and Lisha, 14. Saldanha, 46, was found dead Friday morning after transferring a call to Kate Middleton's nurse from two Australian shock jocks posing as the queen. The two DJs spoke out on Australian television yesterday, saying they were shattered at the news.

One day after a prominent Satmar Hasidic man was convicted of sexual abuse in N.Y., the insular ultra-Orthodox community in Williamsburg is still reeling. A Brooklyn rabbi who writes a blog about sex abuse within the tight-knit community allegedly suffered burns Tuesday after bleach was thrown in his face by another Hasidic man. Rabbi Nachum Rosenberg recounted the incident to a local TV station, explaining that a bearded man wearing a black coat ran up to him with a full cup of bleach, and poured it on him. “Half of my face is burned,” he said, “and my left eye, I can't see out of it.” The recent trial, which lasted several weeks, revealed secrets about “modesty squads” in the community, a topic Rosenberg covered on his blog.

John McCain wants the findings of a 6,000 page report on “enhanced interrogation techniques” during George W. Bush’s administration to be made public, ahead of a Senate panel vote to approve the report. The Senate Intelligence Committee will likely approve the report on Thursday, concluding a three-year inquiry, but the information inside will not necessarily be made available to the public. McCain argued Tuesday that the findings should “absolutely be made public,” adding, “We did not get any meaningful information by torturing people.”

The late Donna Summer gets a well-deserved last dance. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2013 inductees were announced at a ceremony in Los Angeles Tuesday, and the honorees are an unusually large and eclectic group. Other inductees include blues guitarist Albert King, ‘70s rockers Ann and Nancy Wilson, and songwriting legend Randy Newman. Public Enemy also got mad props, becoming the fourth hip-hop act to ever be inducted. This year marked the first time the public was allowed to have their say, casting votes online for the “fan’s ballot,” which was counted as one vote along with the approximately 600 other ballots. The official induction ceremony will take place on April 18, 2013 and will air on HBO.

Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue issued a ruling to overturn the suspensions of four current and former New Orleans Saints players Tuesday, bringing a close to a case that has plagued the NFL for close to a year. Tagliabue, the commissioner from 1989–2006 was asked by his predecessor, current commissioner Roger Goodell, to oversee the appeals in order to keep the league from operating a “kangaroo court.” While Tagliabue did find that three of the players had engaged in fine-worthy conduct that was “detrimental to the league,” he placed a large part of the blame on the coaches themselves, who rewarded key plays—including hard tackles—with a culture of performance pools. “This entire case has been contaminated by the coaches and others in the Saints’ organization,” the ruling said.