First watch: Record low temps, record wealth, and the Person of the Year

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National

First watch: Record low temps, record wealth, and the Person of the Year

President Obama was the first of many world leaders to honor former South African President Nelson Mandela at a memorial service in Johannesburg this morning. Obama told the crowd, "His struggle was your struggle. His triumph was your triumph. Your dignity and your hope found expression in his life."

TIME magazine will announce its Person of the Year tomorrow morning. The 10 finalists include Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, singer Miley Cyrus and NSA leaker Edward Snowden, who The New Yorker predicts will receive the honor. Barbara Walters reportedly considered Snowden for her pick but was vetoed by ABC.

Records set:

A new McClatchy-Marist poll shows the highest disapproval for the president’s job performance since he took office five years ago (53%).

Household wealth reaches an all-time high of $77.3 trillion.

A record low temperature of -135.8 Fahrenheit was recorded in Antarctica.

Congress

’I’m not a softy by any means,’ Clyburn says as he prepares to help lead Democrats

Rep. Jim Clyburn is out to not only lead Democrats as majority whip, but to prove himself amidst rumblings that he didn’t do enough the last time he had the job.