Looks like Washington is still licking its fiscal cliff wounds. President Obama announced Tuesday that he “will not oppose” the House Republicans’ new proposal to suspend enforcement of the federal debt limit until May 19. The measure—which will be brought to the House for a vote Wednesday—would give the Republicans "breathing room" in order to avoid another debt-limit confrontation with Obama. Under the proposal, the government's legal borrowing limit of $16.4 trillion would remain the same until May 18. If successful, the approach will be the first of its kind to succeed since WWII.

A shooting at Lone Star College in Houston Tuesday left four hospitalized, including the two suspects who are being held in custody. According to a campus spokesperson, the fighting broke out just outside of the campus library where two men, at least one of whom is a student, began fighting. A maintenance worker was allegedly among the victims after being shot in the calf. A fourth victim was taken to the hospital due to another "medical condition." The incident initially sparked fears of another mass shooting, until acting Sheriff Maj. Armando Tello confirmed that both suspects had been admitted to the local hospital.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won a third term in the country's general election Tuesday, but was left weakened by the rise of a centrist party whose support was seen as a rebuke to Netanyahu's coalition. Placing second behind Netanyah's right-wing Likud was a new party led by TV celebrity Yair Lapid, made appeals to Israel's middle class and called for integration of the country's ultra-Orthodox population into the army and economy. Lapid avoided the subject of a peace process with the Palestinians, but his success was a stand against Netanyahu's bellicose reputation on the issue. "The citizens of Israel today said no to the politics of fear and hatred," Lapid said Tuesday night.

Some key players in the Petraeus scandal are suddenly making headlines again—though it may be the last we hear of them. The Pentagon has cleared Gen. John Allen, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, of any wrongdoing following an investigation into a rumored-to-be-inappropriate email exchange with Tampa socialite Jill Kelley. As it turns out, Allen has been “completely exonerated” of violating any military prohibitions in his emails with Kelley, who was harassed by General Petraeus’s mistress and biographer, Paula Broadwell. In an exclusive interview with The Daily Beast, Kelley flatly denied reports that she and Allen exchanged suggestive emails.

A well-known religious counselor in New York's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community was sentenced to 103 years in prison for sexual abuse. Nechemya Weberman, 54, was convicted of 59 counts of sexual abuse and child endangerment on December 10, including the sexual abuse of a young girl he was counseling for over three years. The female victim, who is now 18, gave an emotional speech during the sentencing, describing herself as a "sad girl" who tried to live a normal life but instead was "forced to perform sickening acts again and again." Weberman maintains his innocence and turned down the offer to speak at Tuesday's sentencing.

Was President Obama thinking of this week’s weather forecast when he mentioned climate change at the inauguration? Across the U.S., the coldest temperatures in two years are predicted for the upcoming week. In Langdon, N.D., it felt like -51 degrees Fahrenheit, while frigid temperatures closed schools in the Detroit area and in Ohio. Even some warmer places are expecting cold temperatures, with the New York area forecasted to have temperatures that feel like the single digits. Stay bundled up.

“Bountygate” is so last season. New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton is returning to the sideline, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced on Tuesday, nearly two weeks earlier than expected. Payton was suspended last March when the league faulted him for the team’s bounty club, whereby players were rewarded for injuring opponents on the field. Suspensions for the players have all been lifted, but one problem remains: the team’s collective punishment included taking away second-round picks in 2012 and 2013, so it remains to be seen how the team will fare next during this spring’s draft pick.

McDonald's and one of its franchise owners will pay $700,000 to members of a Muslim community near Detroit to settle a lawsuit. A Dearborn Heights resident, Ahmed Ahemd, alleged that he bought a chicken sandwich from a local McDonald's but found that it was not halal, meaning it did not meet Islamic requirements for preparing food. Both of the McDonald's locations in Dearborn advertise exclusively halal Chicken McNuggets and McChicken sandwiches. A lawyer for Ahmed said that he "had confirmed with a source familiar with the inventory" that the restaurant sold non-halal food "on many occassions." McDonald's and Finley's management deny any liability but said the settlement is in their best interest.

And you thought the inauguration was boring. Scandal is rocking Washington, as The Times of London reports that Beyoncé was lip-syncing “The Star Spangled Banner” at Monday’s historic event. The clues: apparent to some press seated below the podium, the Marine Corps Band wasn’t even playing during the song (despite the band director’s conducting); Beyoncé apparently removed her earpiece at one point; an Instagram photo was posted by the singer the day before in a recording studio, holding sheet music to the song. Also, the Marine Corps Band spokesperson confirmed suspicions and said that the singer chose to “rely on the studio version” shortly before her performance. This would be the first known case of a lip-synced performance of the anthem at an inauguration.

Colombian singer Shakira welcomed a baby boy Tuesday, the pop star's first child with Spanish soccer boyfriend Gerard Piqué. The singer revealed her son's name, Milan Piqué Mebarak, several hours later on her website. "The name Milan (pronounced MEE-lahn), means dear, loving and gracious in Slavic; in ancient Roman, eager and laborious; and in Sanskrit, unification," the announcement reads. Born in Barcelona, Milan reportedly weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces. "Just like his father, baby Milan became a member of FC Barcelona at birth." Shakira is one of the newest mentors on the NBC's popular show The Voice.

Are you a 20-something who watches HBO’s Girls every Sunday night and totally thinks, like, Lena Dunham just gets me? Do you ride New York City’s L train and wonder if your life is meant for more than just parties and brunches? Do you describe yourself as wise-beyond-your-years? Well if you do, an Emmy-winning production company is looking to cast girls for a reality show inspired by the hit show Girls. In an ad on Craigslist, the company seeks women looking for “fame, fortune, love or even a hookup with potential.” It’s unclear if there will be black people on the show.

It’s rare to see the words “Chris Brown” and “victim” together. Police swarmed the Los Angeles home of Chris Brown after receiving a prank 911 call involving a domestic incident. The 911 caller allegedly said a mother and father were in a fight and the father went into another room to get a gun. The caller gave Brown’s address, though reportedly never mentioned Brown’s name. Brown was not home at the time. Police say the rapper is the latest victim of “swatting,” or prank 911 calls at celebrities’ homes. On Friday, someone falsely reported a man with a gun at the home of Kris and Bruce Jenner.

Time for her side of the story. Jill Kelley, the woman thrown into a scandal that caused CIA Director David Petraeus to resign and nearly cost the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan his job, said in an interview with The Daily Beast that she was blackmailed by Paula Broadwell. Broadwell allegedly sent the emails thinking Kelley was having an affair with Petraeus, a charge that Kelley denies. Kelley said the emails did not warn her to stay away from Petraeus, and the two were never “romantic rivals.” Kelley also said it is “outrageous” that she and Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, exchanged 30,000 emails, saying it numbered more in the hundreds and the pair never had an affair.

There are other fish in the sea. The Marine Conservation Society, Britain's biggest marine charity, removed mackerel from its “fish to eat” list on Tuesday, saying that the fish should be eaten only occasionally and be replaced with herring and sardines instead. The society says that mackerel have been overfished after Iceland and the Faroe Islands dramatically increased their quotas. But not everyone agrees with the society. A spokesman for the Scottish Fisherman's Federation said, “The stock is actually still well above the precautionary level, even if Iceland and the Faroes continue to do this. You can ignore the MCS advice this year.”

The Algerian prime minister insisted Tuesday that his country will do everything in its power to fight al Qaeda after militants linked to the terrorist group took hundreds of hostages at a gas facility last week. Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said the attack had been coordinated by a Canadian citizen, who was allegedly among the 29 gunmen killed. Thirty-eight of the hostages, including five Americans, were killed in a highly criticized rescue mission. Sellal said al Qaeda is attempting to create Sahelistan, an Afghan-type power base in northwest Africa. British Prime Minister David Cameron said his country may increase its help to Algeria and provide more aid to France in its intervention in Mali.

An estimated 800 children in Europe have reportedly developed the sleep disorder narcolepsy after receiving a vaccination for H1N1, or swine flu. Some 30 million people in 47 countries have received the Pandemirx H1N1 vaccine, made by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline. Because it contains an adjuvant, or booster, and drug regulators have concerns about adjuvanted vaccines, the shot was not given in the U.S. GSK says 795 people in Europe have reported that after receiving the vaccine, they developed the sleep disorder, which can make normal life impossible. Researcher Emmanuel Mignot, one of the world’s leading experts on narcolepsy, said the evidence strongly backs a link, but he warned against letting the situation develop into the “next Wakefield,” the term used to describe the backlash after now-discredited British doctor Andrew Wakefield’s erroneous claims of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism.

Las Vegas officials said a local police officer killed his family and then set his home on fire before eventually killing himself on Monday. Police in Boulder City, a suburb of Las Vegas, received a call at 8:20 a.m. on Monday from a man who said he had killed his wife and son and was planning on setting his home on fire. While they would only confirm it was an “off-duty Las Vegas officer,” the house belonged to Lt. Hans Walters, 52, and his wife, Kathryn, 46. When police responded to the call, the man at the house had a shotgun and ignored officers’ warnings and entered the burning house. The coroner confirmed three bodies were found in the house.

This probably is not what Todd Akin wanted. For the first time since the groundbreaking Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973, a majority of Americans want abortion to stay legal—and seven in 10 respondents oppose overturning the case. According to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Tuesday, the intense rhetoric about abortion and rape by Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock and the debate over contraception have caused attitudes to shift toward abortion. Fifty-four percent of adults said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, and a combined 44 percent said it should be illegal with no exceptions. And 70 percent said Roe v. Wade should not be overturned—with 57 percent backing that sentiment strongly.

Spoken like a true prince? Harry, Prince of Wales, admitted to killing insurgents before flying out of Afghanistan on Monday, ending his four-month tour as an Apache copilot gunner. "Yeah, so lots of people have," Harry, 28, told reporters. "If there's people trying to do bad stuff to our guys, then we'll take them out of the game, I suppose," he said in one of several interviews released to the media. Having previously served as a combat soldier in the same region, Harry was deployed to Afghanistan four months ago, shortly after the media went wild over nude pictures of him in Vegas. "I let my family down," he said of the Vegas saga. "But it was probably a classic example of me being too much Army, and not enough prince."

For as much press as there was devoted to what President Obama would say in his inaugural address Monday, there may have been just as much—if not more—coverage of what First Lady Michelle Obama would wear to the inaugural balls. The answer: a ruby chiffon and velvet gown designed by Jason Wu. It may be a bit of a controversial choice, as Wu is the same designer Obama wore four years ago to the inaugural balls, and many fashion critics were hoping she’d use the occasion to champion an up-and-coming designer. After debuting her gown, she and the president danced to “Let’s Stay Together” performed by Jennifer Hudson. “I’ve got a date with me here,” the president told the crowd. “She inspires me every day.”

What images come to mind when you hear the words “Planned Parenthood?” Well, if it ain’t the Third Reich and concentration camps, you’re clearly doing it wrong. On Liberty Counsel’s “Faith and Freedom” radio show Sunday, host Mat Staver honored the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade by likening federal funding for Planned Parenthood to “enriching Hitler.” Funding abortion, he said, is no different from funding a “Hitler kind of killing machine, or Pol Pot, or some of these other genocide tyrants.” Cecile Richards, we always knew you looked suspicious. 

The past couple of weeks have not been kind to the powerhouse art dealer Larry Gagosian, one of the key players in globalizing the art market over the past two decades. First, artist Jeff Koons decided his next show would be with another dealer. Only a week later, Damian Hirst announced he would be severing ties with Gagosian after 17 years, and artist Yayoi Kusama is also in the process of quitting Gagosian. The loss of the talent comes as he faces two high-profile lawsuits, one by Jan Cowles, who accuses him of selling a Roy Lichtenstein painting from her collection without her knowledge. The other lawsuit is from his former friend, Ron Perelman—the two even invested in an East Hampton, N.Y., restaurant together—who alleges that Gagosian has “abused his position of trust.”

For decades, top officials in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles maneuvered to cover up for molesting priests, keep sex-abuse stories quiet, and provide damage control for the church, according to church personnel files. The records filed in a lawsuit against the archdiocese reveal how retired Cardinal Roger Mahony and his aides failed to take meaningful action against priests accused of sex abuse. Priests suspected of abuse were sent away for treatment, but often only after long delays, and many cases slipped under the radar. In a statement Monday, Mahony said he was “naïve” in how he handled the scandals and apologized for his mistakes, saying he keeps the names of 90 abuse victims on index cards and prays for them every day.