Evening Edition: Robert F. McDonnell sentenced to two years in prison

The most important stories of the day  •  Tue., Jan. 6, 2015 View in your Web browser

Robert F. McDonnell sentenced to two years in prison A federal judge sentenced former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell to two years in prison Tuesday — a term far lower than what prosecutors had sought and one that means the popular politician will be free before his 63rd birthday.  Read full article »

Boehner survives leadership challenge from conservative members

Republicans took full control of Congress Tuesday for the first time in eight years, and John A. Boehner was reelected as House speaker, after a group of hard-right conservatives tried and failed to deny him another term.  Read full article »

White House: Obama would veto Keystone bill

This post has been updated. President Obama would veto a bill that would allow for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, the White House said Tuesday."If this bill passes this Congress, the president wouldn’t sign it," said White House press secretary Josh Earnest.  Read full article »

Why no one likes indoor malls any more

There is nothing more photogenic and metaphorical than a dead mall — all those hushed escalators, abandoned mannequins and empty parking lots veined with weeds. The New York Times had a lovely slideshow of just such scenes over the weekend, accompanying another story (ofwhichtherearenowmany) on the demise of the suburban shopping mecca.  Read full article »

Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, John Smoltz, Craig Biggio get 2015 Hall of Fame nod; Mike Piazza misses cut — MLB

They are odes to how different pitchers can look and be, one little and lithe and right-handed, the other gangly and gargantuan slinging from ungodly angles with his left arm. Tuesday, those two players — two of the most dominant and intimidating pitchers of an era defined by offense — were overwhelmingly voted into baseball’s Hall of Fame.  Read full article »