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It's official: 2012 was the hottest year on record for the contiguous United States. In fact, it shattered the record set in 1998. The National Climatic Data Center says last year was also extraordinarily dry — and drought conditions are persisting into 2013.

A fuel leak Tuesday on a Tokyo-bound Japan Airlines flight forced the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft to cancel takeoff and return to the gate at Boston's Logan International Airport. It was the second incident involving a Dreamliner in two days after a small fire on a 787 on Monday.

Part hostel, part performance center, a house in southern Turkey has become a valuable place for Syrians fleeing their homeland and seeking temporary refuge.

The Republican leadership has installed immigration hawks to chair the House Judiciary Committee and a subcommittee that would be charged with drafting immigration bills. And a veteran Democrat has left another coveted committee to join the judiciary panel and help push through possible changes.

Even after Congress' action to avert part of the "fiscal cliff," business owners remain cautious about hiring and expanding. Those that are growing cite the underlying economy, but others say uncertainty about government spending is keeping them wary.

Tales of Machiavellian office politics are all the rage in China, where "bureaucracy lit" is flying off bookstore shelves. The books are read as both entertainment and as how-to guides for aspiring civil servants. Pioneers of the genre offer a path to success in China's corridors of power.

The fight over the former GOP senator's nomination to be the next defense secretary might be bigger than any other Cabinet nomination in recent history. Chuck Hagel's friends and foes are preparing for modern combat on TV and the Internet.

The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday in a case testing whether police must get a warrant before forcing a driver to have his blood drawn. Missouri, backed by the Obama administration, argues that time is of the essence when alcohol is dissipating in a person's bloodstream.

The Arizona city's gun buyback program is being challenged by the National Rifle Association. The gun rights group says it is illegal under the state's law to destroy the guns, and warned the city it will sue. Tucson officials say they are not violating the law.

Blanco, a first-generation Cuban-American, says he identifies with the theme of the inauguration: Our People, Our Future. He is the fifth poet to take part in a U.S. presidential inauguration, and also the youngest. He says being selected was a "great honor."