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After a long delay, the Senate has finally confirmed B. Todd Jones to be the first permanent director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives. Who is he and what took so long?

With House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying she will step down as party leader after two decades at the top, House Democrats look to a new generation of leaders.

President Obama nominated Loretta Lynch to be his attorney general last November. Five months later, the full Senate finally voted to confirm her nomination Thursday.

When is a dunk more than a dunk? When it's wrapped up in proving yourself to your entire high school.

The last big medal event at the Beijing Olympics — the men's basketball final — was a thriller for the ages. The American "Redeem Team" got redemption by beating Spain, 118-107.

The nation's top military officer says more U.S. troops will likely be needed to win the war in Afghanistan. Adm. Mike Mullen's comments before the Senate Armed Services committee came as Democratic Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan underscored his opposition to additional forces, and Sen. John McCain, the committee's ranking Republican, shot back that any delay in sending troop reinforcements would have catastrophic consequences.

Republicans had accused President Obama of dithering rather than deciding how things should go in Afghanistan. The president took three months and convened many top-level meetings to consider strategy and troop levels. While there is support for the increased troop level, they do not think Obama should have set a timetable for withdrawing.

Fitch Ratings cut the U.S.'s rating by one notch, moving it from the previous top-rated AAA to AA+, citing worsening governance as a key factor — just months after the country averted a debt default.

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Courtney Nguyen, senior writer for WTA Insider, about the home stretch of Wimbledon, the world's oldest and arguably most prestigious tennis tournament.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) forms a presidential exploratory committee and says that he will announce his plans — to run for the top office or not — on Feb. 10. Obama's move allows him to raise money for a presidential candidacy.