NewsCut

Given the lack of much new emanating from today's long-awaited National Rifle Association news conference reacting to last Friday's Connecticut massacre, Twitter's 140 character limit seems like the perfect vehicle for reviewing it.
What are we afraid of? (5×8 – 12/21/12)
What's behind an old debate, veterans dying for a little help, the North Dakota cowboy lifesaver, the season of stealing, and setting a high bar for marriage proposals.
MPR's Tim Pugmire reports today several House GOPers are urging Gov. Mark Dayton to reject new Department of Education social studies standards because they do not stress the value of American patriotism.
There are no grand gestures that could make things better in Newtown, Connecticut, but perhaps it's the little gestures that mean the most.
Nathan Norman, 5, of Rustburg, Va., has brain and spine cancer. His tumors are growing and the chemotherapy he's undergoing is just to buy some time.
The lessons of the hoax video
Nobody seemed to have determined it was a hoax purely on the basis of the absurdity of the notion that someone would keep filming while a raptor swooped down to steal a baby nearby.