NPR News

Some kids can't get enough of online games where they can pretend to run a candy factory or decorate cakes. But children who play with these games may eat more, and eat more junk food, even if the game features fruit or other healthful choices, according to new research.

It's playoff season in the NFL. As part of Tell Me More's 'In Your Ear' series, the Baltimore Ravens' Brendon Ayanbadejo shares some of the songs that keep him motivated on and off the field.

Bobby Cannavale may have acted in film and on television, but at heart, he's a theater guy. Always has been, always will be.

Last season he starred as Gyp Rosetti on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. He's currently on Broadway opposite Al Pacino in David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross -- but the stage has been his calling since he was a kid growing up in Union City, N.J.

You might be feeling a bit hung over from all the 'fiscal cliff' negotiations. But the financial talks in Washington aren't over yet. In the coming months, the White House and Congress will face three major economic challenges. Host Michel Martin breaks down what you need to know for the next round of fiscal talks.

Caffeine is pretty much everywhere. It's in coffee and tea, of course, but also pops up in mints, gum, jerky and even maple syrup.

Update: At 6 a.m. ET. Jan. 10, White House Announcement:

The White House has officially confirmed that President Obama will nominate his chief of staff, Jacob "Jack" Lew, to be the next Treasury secretary. According to a statement, the announcement is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET today (Thursday).

NPR's Scott Horsley had more about the nomination on Morning Edition.

"Telescope," the fictional hit single by the fictional country star Juliette Barnes on Nashville, is sung by the actress who plays Juliette, Hayden Panetierre. If it didn't become a real-life hit when the song was released a few months ago to country radio stations, it wasn't for lack of catchiness, courtesy of producers T-Bone Burnett and Buddy Miller.

A day ahead of the glamorous Oscar nominations for the best in U.S. and international film, comes the Golden Raspberry Awards with its 2012 "Dis-Honors for Worst Achievements In Film".

You will absolutely not be surprised to learn the film with the most nominations, including Worst Picture, is the fifth installment of the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn 2, with 11. The critics write:

"A commuter ferry had a hard landing when it pulled into a Lower Manhattan pier, injuring at least 53 people Monday morning," WABC-TV is reporting.

At least one person suffered a serious head injury, according to The Associated Press.

Good morning, here are our early stories:

AIG Would Be 'Hard Pressed' To Join Lawsuit Over Its Federal Bailout.

Talk Of Delaying Brennan Nomination 'Unfortunate,' White House Says.

And here are more early headlines:

Update at 4:50 p.m. ET. AIG Board Confirms Its Stance:

While the nomination of former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., to be secretary of defense has drawn opposition from groups who question his views on policy toward Israel and Iran, the nomination of White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan to be CIA director may be delayed by senators who want to know more about last September's attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.:

Polling found Congress' most recent approval rating is 9 percent. Other things were tested too, and it was discovered root canals are more popular than lawmakers. On the bright side for Congress, it is more popular than the Ebola virus and playground bullies.

Students of Don Gillett at Wrightsville Elementary in York., Pa., are in a program tracking books they read. If they total 2,000, he says he'll get a tent and a grill, and live on the roof for awhile.

In 1961, Robert Frost became the first poet to read at a U.S. inauguration when he recited "The Gift Outright" at President John F. Kennedy's swearing in. Since then, only three other poets have taken part in subsequent inaugural ceremonies: Maya Angelou, Miller Williams and Elizabeth Alexander. Now, there's a fifth.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne. Good morning.

The Consumer Electronics Show opened this week in Las Vegas. It's supposed to give the world a glimpse of what's coming next in technology. But the absence of major consumer-technology companies such as Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, has led some to wonder whether CES still matters.

Insurance company AIG holds a board meeting Wednesday to consider joining former CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg's lawsuit against the government over its handling of the AIG bailout in 2008. For more on the suit, Steve Inskeep talks to business reporter Michael de la Merced of The New York Times.

Target says it will match the online prices of Amazon.com and others. Target knows that increasingly consumers are using mobile devices to check prices online as they cruise the aisles. And if the price is better somewhere else, that's where they'll buy it.

The International Labor Organization, the U.N. agency that deals with labor issues, has released a report on the growing number of domestic workers around the globe, and their lack of legal and worker protections. There are almost 53 million domestic workers and 83 percent are women. They have often been ignored by policy makers.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday delivered his State-of-the-State speech. It contained no new policy objectives. It was designed to boost morale in state where he said 346,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

New York State already has some of the nation's toughest gun laws. And today Governor Andrew Cuomo is expected to propose far-reaching new gun control measures during his State of the State address.

Getting those reforms through the state legislature may be another matter, as NPR's Joel Rose reports.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

In Israel this week, the election campaign for a new parliament kicks into high gear. Last night the first television ads aired. Networks are required to leave long stretches of space for the ads. With the vote just two weeks off, opposition parties are hoping their TV spots will at last weaken the frontrunner, the prime minister's Likud Party.

NPR's Larry Abramson reports from Jerusalem.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And our last word in business today is Psyper Bowl.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GANGNAM STYLE")

PSY: Oppan Gangnam style. Gangnam style. Op op op op oppan Gangnam Style.

MONTAGNE: South Korean pop star Psy took YouTube by storm with the viral sensation "Gangnam Style." Now he's setting his sights on the Super Bowl.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Alcoa, the biggest aluminum producer in the U.S., has announced it posted a profit of more than $240 million in the last three months of 2012. That's a big improvement from the same quarter the year before when it lost $190 million.

Weeks before President Obama officially nominated Chuck Hagel to be secretary of defense, the lobbying battle was well under way. The fight might be bigger than any other Cabinet nomination in history as the former Republican senator's friends and foes prepare for modern combat on TV and the Internet.