By letting the House take up the Senate's fiscal cliff-dodging legislation that raises income tax rates on the wealthiest earners, Speaker John Boehner answered affirmatively a question that had been on many minds: Would he allow an up-or-down floor vote on a bill opposed by most fellow House Republicans?

Until the New Year's Day vote, Boehner had generally operated the House under what was known as the Hastert Rule. Named for former Speaker Dennis Hastert, it required a "majority of the majority" to support legislation before the speaker approved a floor vote.

Michigan's Mackinac Island was fought over by France, England and the United States. The 200-year-old city in northern Lake Huron is a popular tourist destination. But the demolition of old buildings has raised a fierce debate about how to hold onto the past while profiting from it.

The acquisition gives Al Jazeera, which is financed by the Qatari government, access to an American TV audience. The new channel, Al Jazeera America, will be based in New York. Current TV was founded in 2004 by former Vice President Al Gore.

The credit-ratings agency Moody's said this weeks' deficit reduction deal did not produce "meaningful improvement" to the issue at hand. That issue: the debt burden and economic output. Moody's warned that if improvements were not made, the agency could downgrade the U.S. credit rating.

David Greene talks to Wall David Wessel, economics editor of The Wall Street Journal, about what the "fiscal cliff" deal did not accomplish, and what fiscal tasks face the new Congress.

The "fiscal cliff" deal leaves in place tax subsidies for the wind power industry for at least one more year. Windmills have dramatically changed the picture of the Midwest. Wind has also changed the landscape economically and politically.

Steve Inskeep talks to Robert Costa, Washington editor of the National Review, about the trials of House Speaker John Boehner. What makes it hard for Boehner to control the Republican caucus?

Farmers and ranchers across the country expected to start 2013 with a new farm bill, the legislation setting agricultural policy for the next five years. But the new farm bill got scrapped after more than a year of work when Congress passed the "fiscal cliff" deal.

The Bank of Canada released the high-tech bills in 2011. The goal was to make the money indestructible. But some Canadians who have their hands on the banknotes say the plastic bills melt when subjected to extreme heat. Publicly, the Bank of Canada isn't confirming the flaw.