ADVISORY CNN Wire Outlook

Supervising News Editor Lateef Mungin -- 404-827-1401

UPCOMING

Egypt-Election updating

The second and final vote, as Egyptians decide whether to approve a new constitution backed by President Morsy and Muslim Brotherhood deputies. Egypt's voting by regions, today's polls are outside Cairo. Last week's first round showing 56% approval so far.

US-Midwest-Blizzard monitoring

The winter storm system that walloped the Midwest moved east Friday night, bringing with it not just snow but powerful winds -- all of which made travel perilous, and last-minute Christmas shopping more complicated, across several states.

US-Mexico-Jailed-Marine updating

A former U.S. Marine who languished for more than four months in a Mexican prison on a questioned gun charge was on his way to spending Christmas with his family Friday after U.S. politicians intervened for his release.

Syria-Civil-War monitoring

In an escalation of its civil war, Syria is firing more Scud missiles in a desperate attempt to quash rebel gains, the NATO chief said Friday. The government has launched more missiles in recent days, according to Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the secretary-general of the alliance.

PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED STORIES

INTERNATIONAL

UK-Thatcher

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher "has undergone surgery to remove a growth in her bladder" and is currently recovering in the hospital, her spokeswoman, Gillian Penrose, said Friday.

Italy-Monti-Resignation

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti handed in his resignation Friday to President Giorgio Napolitano, the Italian government press office said.

South-Sudan-UN-Helicopter

South Sudanese armed forces admitted shooting down a United Nations helicopter in eastern South Sudan on Friday. The Sudan People's Liberation Army said it was an accident, according to spokesman Philip Aguer.

Iraq-Finance-Minister-Arrests

Nine bodyguards for Iraq's finance minister have been arrested, Abdul Sattar al-Berqdar, a spokesman for the Supreme Judicial Council, told Iraqi state TV on Friday.

Syria-Civil-War

In an escalation of its civil war, Syria is firing more Scud missiles in a desperate attempt to quash rebel gains, the NATO chief said Friday.

Egypt-Clashes

Riot police fired tear gas at protesters in the Egyptian city of Alexandria on Friday, according to state-run Nile TV. Shortly after morning prayers, clashes broke out between supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Morsy.

Yemen-Kidnapped-Tourists

Three foreigners were kidnapped in Yemen's capital Friday, two Interior Ministry officials told CNN.

Russia-US-Adoption-Ban

Lawmakers in Moscow moved to ban Americans from adopting Russian children Friday, as they passed a bill that imposes a series of sanctions on U.S. interests, state media reported.

North-Korea-US-Arrest

North Korea has arrested a U.S. citizen for committing an unspecified crime against the country, state media said Friday.

U.S.A.

US-Mexico-Jailed-Marine

A former U.S. Marine who languished for more than four months in a Mexican prison on a questioned gun charge was on his way to spending Christmas with his family Friday after U.S. politicians intervened for his release.

Iowa-Irresistible-Worker

Can a boss fire an employee he finds attractive because he and his wife, fairly or not, see her as a threat to their marriage? Yes, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday.

Indiana-Home-Explosion

Three Indiana residents were arrested Friday on charges of arson and felony murder in a fatal house explosion in Indianapolis last November, according to the Marion County, Indiana, prosecutor's office.

Pennsylvania-Violence

A man killed two men and one woman Friday in central Pennsylvania, then died in a gunfight with state troopers, authorities said.

Space-Asteroid-Threat

On a day when global doomsday predictions failed to pan out, NASA had more good news for the Earth: An asteroid feared to be on a collision course with our planet no longer poses a significant threat.

MED-Massachusetts-Meningitis-Bankruptcy

The company linked to a deadly, nationwide outbreak of fungal meningitis announced Friday it has filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11.

US-Soldier-Ultimate-Fighter

It should come as no surprise that U.S. Army soldiers can fight. But Staff Sgt. Colton Smith can say he's the Army's ultimate fighter.

US-CIA-Zero-Dark-Thirty

The CIA joined on Friday the chorus of those challenging the accuracy of a new movie on the Osama bin Laden raid that suggests that harsh interrogation techniques used on suspected terrorists helped the agency find the man considered behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

US-Lesson-From-Female-Mass-Shooter

"I don't like Mondays." This was the answer given by one of America's first contemporary mass school shooters, Brenda Spencer, when asked why she had fired 30 rounds with a semiautomatic rifle at a San Diego elementary schoolyard on January 29, 1979. She killed the school's principal and custodian and wounded nine schoolchildren, some as young as 8. So unfathomable was the event at the time that this action even inspired a popular song. But today, Spencer has been nearly lost to our collective memory. Why is she not remembered? Perhaps because she is one of only two female school shooters that we know of.

US-Jim-Walton-last-day

He's been one of the most powerful figures in the news business for nearly a decade -- not just in the United States, but around the world. Now, after rising from the company's lowest ranks to become president of CNN Worldwide, Jim Walton is leaving the building. Friday is his last day.

Connecticut-School-Shooting

The National Rifle Association responded Friday to a chorus of voices calling for gun control in the wake of last week's horrific mass shooting in Connecticut by doubling down on its own position: more guns, not fewer, provide true security.

Military Style Weapons iReport

Why would someone own a military-style rifle? Here are five reasons why.

POLITICS

POL-Hagel-Controversy

Calls of concern and support over President Obama's possible pick to be the next secretary of defense are piling up as former colleagues and special interest organizations take aim at and defend the independent-thinking former senator.

POL-Kerry-Nomination

President Barack Obama on Friday nominated Sen. John Kerry, the former presidential candidate who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to be the next secretary of state. The senior senator from Massachusetts is noted for the experience, gravitas and relationship-building skills that could help him succeed Hillary Clinton, the outgoing top U.S. diplomat.

POL-Fiscal-Cliff

President Barack Obama spoke separately Friday with Speaker John Boehner and the top Senate Democrat to try to salvage a fiscal cliff deal by the end of year, after Republican disarray in the U.S. House put the negotiations in limbo.

POL-Boehner-Plan-B

House Speaker John Boehner suffered a major political setback Thursday when he failed to garner enough votes to pass his back-up plan to a fiscal cliff deal, also known as "Plan B." But what happened?

POL-Boehner-Survive-Fiscal-Cliff-Plan-B

Roughly six weeks ago, Rep. John Boehner was reelected unanimously by his colleagues as speaker of the House of Representatives. They cheered and applauded him in an ornate hearing room on Capitol Hill. But on Thursday, many of those same Republicans abandoned Boehner in droves, rejecting his Plan B to avert the fiscal cliff and raising questions about his future. Thursday night's epic meltdown in the House GOP conference came at a defining moment for Boehner.

POL-Gun-Policy-Two-Different-Worlds

For National Rifle Association Vice President Wayne LaPierre and many other pro-gun Americans, the task is clear: The best way to protect children from becoming victims of a slaughter like the one seen last week in Newtown, Connecticut, is to make sure every school in America has "qualified armed security." For President Barack Obama, many Democratic leaders and a slight majority of the American public, the solution starts with tougher legislation on assault weapons, universal background checks and limits on high-capacity magazines, the first steps needed to begin to make it harder to get at the kinds of firearms that kill thousands of Americans each year. Both sides are so vested in intractable arguments that there is little room for political common ground.

POL-Menendez-Foreign-Relations-Committee

Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, is expected to become the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee if and when the current chairman, Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, is confirmed as secretary of state, two Senate Democratic aides told CNN.

POL-Senate-Sandy-Funds

Senators showed broad support Friday for $60.4 billion in emergency funding for victims of Superstorm Sandy, voting overwhelmingly to bring it up for final passage next week.

POL-Obama-Inouye

President Barack Obama praised Daniel Inouye as perhaps his "earliest political inspiration" while delivering remarks at a memorial service for the late senator on Friday.

MONEY

MONEY-stocks-markets

All three U.S. stock indexes finished the week higher, even after stocks dropped nearly 1% Friday on fears over the fiscal cliff.

MONEY-Milk-Prices

The New Year could push milk prices to $7 a gallon.

MONEY-fiscal-cliff-world-reaction

Fiscal cliff was one of Collins dictionary's words of 2012, along with Gangnam Style and Eurogeddon. But those who hoped the phrase would be redundant next year might disappointed.

MONEY-Fiscal-Cliff

fYes, Virginia, there still could be a fiscal cliff deal by the end of this year. But given how things unraveled in Washington this week, there's also a good chance the country could go over the cliff for a time. The good news: It won't be the end of the world. The bad news: Going over the cliff could create problems that no one should have to deal with, simply because Congress and the White House couldn't get the job done on time.

FEATURES

End-of-the-world

Friday was supposed to be the day life on Earth ceased to exist. Yet for billions, the day came and went without an apocalypse that some, citing the ancient Mayan calendar, had expected.

MED-healthy-eating-traveling-holidays

5 healthy eating tips for holiday travelers.

MED-psychology-holiday-giving

What the brain wants for Christmas.

Lovesail-sailors-online-dating

Lonely sailors search online for love on the high-seas.

Christmas-iReport

Christmas is synonymous with colorful decorations, festive markets and extravagant quantities of food. But while most yuletide celebrations share these general characteristics, it can be easy to forget that there's a host of distinctive regional variations from country-to-country.

TRAVEL-ipads-at-airports

Food delivered to your gate at the touch of a screen? It sounds too good to be true, but it's happening at a handful or airports.

TRAVEL-iceland-business

Iceland wants business to "meet in the middle."

TECH-Facebook-Messaging-Changes

How much would you pay to contact a stranger? Facebook is sprucing up its messaging system, and the most interesting change is a move to charge people to send a message to someone outside their network.