U.S. Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao makes splash as Congress sworn in (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
Parents, wife watch him make history

Health (The West Australian)
A daily tipple and a potter in the garden are the keys to a long and healthy life, Australian research has revealed. A major study, which tracked 3000 people for two decades, has given the best picture yet of how to ward off dementia and death in old age.

Hollywood Friends I’ll Miss and A Hollywood Year I Won’t (The New York Observer)
For many disturbing reasons—personal, financial and global—I unequivocally declare 2008 one of the most miserably catastrophic years within memory. With a new government promising a new strategy of reform and change, I join the rest of the world in a new thing called hope. But before we dust off and start fresh in the new year, let’s say a proper goodbye to the folks in the old one who ...

November Unemployment Rose In Every N.C. County (WSOC-TV Charlotte)
RALEIGH, N.C. -- All 100 North Carolina counties experienced a rise in unemployment in November, with 17 posting double-digit jobless rates. The state Employment Security Commission reported Tuesday that only Orange County's unemployment rate was below 5 percent in November.

Health experts offer tips on battling chronic cold-weather assaults on your body (Reading Eagle)
Click on picture to enlarge. The Cox brothers, from left, Andrew T.,12; Guy Alexander, 6; and twin Zachary R. work together recently shoveling snow in front of their house in Laureldale. Diet and outdoor exercise can help prevent a vitamin D deficiency.