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Love berries? It seems a habit of eating them three times a week may stave off heart attacks, at least in middle-aged women, according to a new study. That's because of compounds called anthocyanins found in these brightly colored gems.

President Obama gave the last news conference of his first term on Monday. The president said Congress must break the habit of negotiating its way through crisis over and over again.

Military suicides went up again in 2012, as defense officials and Congress grappled with what to do. Of the 349 suicides, there were 182 in the active-duty Army, compared to 165 in 2011.

It's still too soon to say whether this is a historically bad flu season. But it's already clear that emergency rooms around the country are filled with feverish throngs that are much larger than during the last flu season.

Dav Pilkey has just released his 10th Captain Underpants book. The series, packed with potty humor and goofy illustrations, delights reluctant readers and horrifies many grown-ups. Pilkey says he wanted to create books that would appeal even to readers who struggle, the way he did as a child.

At a White House news conference Monday, President Obama compared lawmakers who refuse to raise the debt limit to deadbeat diners who gorge themselves at a pricey restaurant, then try to skip out without paying the bill. Congressional Republicans quickly rejected the president's argument. They hope to use the debt ceiling fight to put the government on a spending diet.

France has intervened in the conflict in the West African nation of Mali, but why does that conflict affect the United States? Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has offered the most basic take on America's interest in Maili: al-Qida is there.

In fiction, Karen Thompson Walker's sci-fi debut and Vladimir Nabokov's unfinished final novel arrive in paperback. In softcover nonfiction, Toby Wilkinson reviews Egypt's political past; Alec Wilkinson surveys 19th-century polar exploration; and William Broad probes the science of yoga.

Consumers were still in a spending mood in December, even as lawmakers battled over the budget. Meanwhile, wholesale prices fell slightly. Those are both good signs for the economy.

Also: White House prepares plan on reducing gun violence; Wal-Mart pledges to hire 100,000 or more veterans; movie theater in Aurora, Colo., set to reopen on Thursday.