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The Two-Way
11:37 am
Tue January 8, 2013

It's In The Books: 2012 Was Warmest Year On Record For Lower 48 States

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Credit Rob Carr / Getty Images
July 22, 2012: In Baltimore, John Rose tried to keep cool during one of the year's heat waves.
Credit NOAA
The red dots are places that last year set records for average annual high temperatures.
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Last year "marked the warmest year on record for the contiguous United States," the National Climatic Data Center just confirmed.

This probably won't surprise many, but "a record warm spring, second-warmest summer, fourth-warmest winter and a warmer-than-average autumn" combined to make the year's average temperature 55.3°F.

That's "3.2°F above the 20th century average, and 1.0°F above 1998, the previous warmest year."

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A Community Grieves
9:20 am
Tue January 8, 2013

Northwest Korean Community Trying To Heal After Oregon Bus Crash

Credit Oregon State Police
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By Anna King

Originally published on Tue January 8, 2013 7:54 am

The Northwest’s tight-knit Korean community continues to grieve the nine people who died in that bus crash just before New Year’s Eve in northeast Oregon. Some of the survivors have already filed a lawsuit against the tour bus company, saying the driver was too tired and going too fast.

Members of a Korean church in Bothell, Washington, are grieving one of their youth pastors. The Oregon State Police haven’t confirmed the death of nineteen-year-old Richard Sohn, but Community Church of Seattle members believe he was on the bus and has died.

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Afghanistan
12:49 am
Tue January 8, 2013

Future Of U.S. Troops Looms Over Afghan Leader's Visit

Credit Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
President Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai greet each other during a May 20 meeting at the NATO Summit in Chicago. Karzai is in Washington, D.C., this week to meet Obama and other senior U.S. officials.
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Originally published on Tue January 8, 2013 5:06 am

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is in Washington this week for meetings with President Obama and other senior administration officials. The talks are expected to help set the framework for U.S. involvement in Afghanistan after the bulk of American and NATO forces leave at the end of 2014. One of the key issues to be discussed is the number of American troops to remain in Afghanistan after that date.

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Rig Reaches Shelter
4:40 pm
Mon January 7, 2013

Shell’s Beached Kulluk Oil Rig Towed To Safe Harbor

Credit Travis Marsh, U.S. Coast Guard.
The Kulluk aground off Sitkalidak Island, Alaska.
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A shipwrecked oil rig that was bound for Seattle has been floated off the rocks and towed to a safe harbor in the Gulf of Alaska. A fleet of nine ships accompanied Shell Oil’s Kulluk drill rig on the 45-mile tow. Shortly before noon Pacific Time, the rig reached its anchorage in sheltered Kiliuda Bay on Kodiak Island.  

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Presidential Politics
10:01 am
Mon January 7, 2013

Coming Up: Obama To Nominate Hagel For Defense, Brennan For CIA

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Credit STAFF / Reuters /Landov
The nominees: John Brennan (left), who is President Obama's choice to head the CIA; and former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., who the president has asked to be secretary of defense.
Credit Mark Wilson / Getty Images
Former Sen. Chuck Hagel, left, President Obama and counterterrorism adviser John Brennan at today's announcement.
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Originally published on Mon January 7, 2013 10:36 am

President Obama is moving to fill two key posts on his national security team with the nomination of former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Republican, to be secretary of defense and current White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

We're updating this post as he speaks, so be sure to hit your "refresh" button. We've also added an audio player so you can, if you wish, hear NPR's coverage and the president's remarks.

Update at 1:35 p.m. ET. Hagel Pledges To "Always Do My Best":

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