McDonough has been a close confidant to the President, since Obama first came to the U.S. Senate. He is currently the Deputy National Security Advisor, where White House officials say McDonough played a key role in major decisions ranging from Afghanistan to the repeal of “Don’t Ask,Don’t Tell”. McDonough also has ties on Capitol Hill as a onetime staffer to former Democratic Senate Leader Tom Daschle. Many of the president’s personnel moves as he begins his second term have involved shuffling insiders, rather than recruiting new blood. Obama is tapping Vice Presidential Advisor Tony Blinken to fill McDonough’s old job on the national security team. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

 

　　Vice President Joe Biden is taking the White House campaign on gun control to Virginia today. Biden is holding a round-table discussion in Richmond with experts who worked on gun safety after the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech.

 

　　“We had a great conversation, the president’s team, the secretaries, and I, and as well as the Justice Department Reps.. We were able to really quiz our friends who have been through a horrible tragedy here as everyone in America knows what happened at Virginia Tech.”

 

　　The Obama Administration is pushing Congress to pass a measure that would require background checks for all gun sales and ban those military-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.

 

　　A former CIA operative has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for leaking the identity of one of his colleagues. NPR’s Carrie Johnson reports the judge says the prison term is way too light.

 

　　John Kiriakou spent almost 15 years at the CIA working on some of the agency’s most sensitive clandestine missions. But the Justice Department says he ran afoul of the law by sharing with a reporter the name of an undercover operative involved in a detainee interrogation program. Kiriakou’s supporters paint him as a whistleblower. But U.S. District Judge Leone Brinkema says he betrayed trust. The judge says she would have thrown the book at Kiriakou and given him a prison term as many as ten years, but his plea deal with the government tied her hands. Prosecutor Neil MacBride says the case should serve as a reminder that the damage drawn by leaks is real and justice will hold people to account. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　Flu cases are starting to decrease nationwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hospitalizations and deaths spiked again last week, especially among the elderly, but flu activity is declining in most regions. It remains on the rise in the west.

 

　　This is NPR News.

 

　　Economic growth in Britain contracted again during the last three months of 2012. Larry Miller reports there is now concern Britain faces a triple-dip recession.

 

　　The British economy shrank by 0.3%, four out of the last five quarters have now had negative growth. The Office for National Statistics describes the economy as bumpy and the trend is sluggish. Treasury Chief George Osborne blames Britain’s high debt and the recession-plagued eurozone, that’s cut back on British exports.

 

　　“I am not making excuses; we are going to confront these problems. We can’t run away from them and the way you confront them is to get the British economy into a state where we are exporting more, where we are connected with the growing markets in the world, where our businesses are competitive and jobs go on being created.”

 

　　However, Britain unions and the political opposition blamed the government’s austerity strategy for the lack of growth, arguing spending cuts are too deep and too fast. For NPR News, I am Larry Miller in London.

 

　　Even though new home sales slipped in December, it was still the best year the industry experienced since 2009. The Commerce Department says new home sales fell 7.3% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 369,000. Economist Mark Vitner says sales of new homes could be strong again in 2013.

 

　　“Interest rates are lower. There is not as much competition from foreclosures and short sales and so home-builders are in much better shape.”

 

　　Vitner says the housing market began to recover in 2012, helped by steady job gains and record-low mortgage rates.

 

　　A bill that would allow gay marriage in Rhode Island is now in the hands of State Senate. The measure received an overwhelming support in the House yesterday.

 

　　This is NPR News.