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At a joint session of Congress, the Electoral College votes from each state were read aloud.

For 15 years, an Icelandic teenager has been called her given name, Blaer Bjarkardottir, by everyone except government employees and other officials. That's because "Blaer" (reportedly Icelandic for "light breeze") isn't on a list of government-approved names for girls.

Is he a "wimp" who blinked during fiscal cliff wrangling, failing to pursue a grand bargain and weakening his future hand? Or a pragmatist who negotiated a "big win" in securing congressional approval for the first tax increase on the wealthy in more than two decades?

In most of Britain, property prices are slumping amid a weak economy. But mega-rich foreigners see London's upscale neighborhoods as a safe place to invest, and they are snapping up properties and pushing up prices even though many don't plan to use these homes as a primary residence.

Buyers are snapping up property in Germany, leaving some analysts worried that it's a bubble in the making. But others say the conservative approach to home ownership, including a tradition of large down payments, will protect the market from a U.S.-style crash.

The state has the largest pension-fund shortfall in the nation, with about $96 billion of liability. Lawmakers are running up against a tight deadline: A new Legislature will be sworn in next week. State employees swarmed the Capitol this week to protest the underfunding of their pensions, as well as pending legislation on the issue.

This can't be. How does that big heavy rock stay pivoted on top of that itsy bitsy one, which is hanging precariously onto the one below? Yet they do. The beauty of balance.

Four people are dead inside an Aurora, Colo., home Saturday following a standoff with an "armed and dangerous" man holding hostages, police say. Aurora is the Denver suburb where a gunman opened fire in a movie theater last July, killing 12 and injuring many more.

Four NFL wild-card playoff games are on this weekend, including Sunday's anticipated quarterback matchup between Washington and Seattle; while our observer ponders the fate of the Indianapolis Colts.

The framers of the Constitution didn't spell out all the responsibilities of the speaker of the House. In practice, one of those duties has been engaging in one-on-one negotiations with a president on important policy issues. But John Boehner says no more — even with new fiscal fights looming.