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Tuesday's vote was not as close as some expected. Some Republicans joined with Democrats to move the plan forward. The two-year deal avoids any more government shutdowns until at least 2015.

USIS, which processes thousands of background checks a year for the U.S., is being investigated for "systemic failure" to adequately vet employees and contractors. The company would not comment on the specifics of the Alexis investigation.

Charlie Trotter was one of the country's most influential chefs. His death comes just a year after he closed his namesake restaurant in Chicago. Authorities plan to conduct an autopsy on Wednesday.

This super cold air is usually whirling around the Arctic. But a big piece has plunged further south than normal. One way to think about what's happening: If a spinning ice skater extends her arms, she slows down. Sometimes, she wobbles and falls. The polar vortex has sort of stretched out an arm.

The motivation for flying with other birds in V formation is probably to save energy, say researchers who tracked the pattern of wing flaps in an ibis flock. Each bird in the V catches a bit of lift from the bird ahead.

For a long time, archaeologists weren't sure what to make of the cookware excavated at ancient Mycenaean ruins in Greece. That is, until one researcher built replicas of the vessels to try to cook just like the Mycenaeans did.

Opportunity, NASA's Mars Rover, landed on Mars on Jan. 24, 2004. It was supposed to be a three-month mission, but 10 years later the rover is still investigating the red planet and sending data and images back to NASA. Jim Bell, an astronomer at Arizona State University, talks with NPR's Rachel Martin about Opportunity's decade on Mars.

The blaze at a complex that housed the elderly quickly engulfed much of the building. Investigators were having a hard time searching for victims because water used to fight the flames had frozen over the scene. A key question: Why was the complex only partially fitted with sprinklers?

Diplomats are again meeting to consider setting aside a protected zone in the pristine waters around Antarctica, though their previous negotiations ended in failure. A scaled-back plan on the table this week would still create the largest marine preserve in the world.

The singer and songwriter who led The Velvet Underground and influenced generations of musicians has died at age 71. Lou Reed's solo career made him into a rock icon after the pioneering band disbanded.