POLITICAL HOT TOPICS: Tuesday, January 15, 2013

The CNN Washington Bureau’s morning speed read of the top stories making news from around the country and the world. Click on the headlines for more.

WASHINGTON/POLITICAL

CNNMoney: Obama administration: Debt ceiling deadline coming soon
The Obama administration on Monday turned up the heat on Congress to raise the debt ceiling. The Treasury Department, hours after President Obama again said he would not negotiate with Congress over the issue, said it will run out of ways to keep the country under the legal borrowing limit sometime between mid-February and early March.

CNN: Clinton to testify before House committee January 23
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will testify on January 23 before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the U.S. Consulate attack in Benghazi, Libya, the office of Chairman Ed Royce announced Monday. Four State Department officials were disciplined last month after an independent review of the September 11, 2012, consulate attack revealed "systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies" at the State Department. The violence left four Americans dead, including the U.S. ambassador.

CNN: Obama says gun lobby stokes fear of federal action
The gun lobby is "ginning up" fears the federal government will use the Newtown shooting tragedy, exactly one month ago, to seize Americans' guns, President Barack Obama said Monday. At least part of the frenzy is little more than marketing, he implied.

CNN: Poll: Gun control that Americans support
One month after the deadly shootings at an elementary school in Connecticut, a new national poll indicates that a majority of Americans support a number of gun control proposals. But the survey points to wide partisan, gender, and educational divides over some proposals.

NATIONAL

CNN: Insulin injection errors may have exposed veterans to viruses
Hundreds of veterans may have been exposed to hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV because of medical oversights that allowed insulin pens to be used on more than one patient at a Veterans Administration hospital in Buffalo, New York, according to a memo from the Department of Veterans Affairs to Congress.

CNN: Reports: Armstrong admits to Oprah he cheated during cycling career
Lance Armstrong, who for years vehemently denied cheating while winning a record seven Tours de France, told Oprah Winfrey that he used performance-enhancing drugs to advance his cycling career, according to media reports.

CNN: Newtown searches for answers a month later
Many questions remain 31 days after a school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, shocked the nation. But what's clear is that the pain remains powerfully visible throughout the community. And the force of that anguish is loud enough to echo throughout Washington's halls of power.

CNN: 'Universal background check:' What does it mean?
The "universal background checks" now being pushed by some gun control supporters is code for closing federal loopholes on such checks at gun shows and other private sales. U.S. law requires background checks for all people who try to buy firearms from federally licensed dealers. But federal law does not require background checks for "private transactions," like sales at gun shows. Many states have their own statutes requiring such checks for private sales.

INTERNATIONAL

CNN Security Clearance: U.S. looks to support France's Mali offensive
The United States military could provide logistical and intelligence support in the French effort against Islamist rebels in Mali, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Monday. The U.S. will "provide whatever assistance it can" as part of what Panetta said was the U.S. global efforts against al Qaeda.

CNN: Police clash with protesters calling for dissolution of Pakistan's government
Supporters of a Muslim cleric who wants Pakistan's leaders thrown out in favor of a caretaker government waited for him to address them in Islamabad on Tuesday after a deadline he set for the current administration to step down expired. Thousands of people gathered in an area near the parliament building, a regular site of protests in the Pakistani capital. Brief clashes took place with security forces early Tuesday as the crowd moved into the area.

CNN: Afghan elders to decide on immunity for U.S. forces
Afghan elders will decide whether any U.S. military who stay in the country after 2014 will be granted immunity from prosecution, President Hamid Karzai told reporters Monday in his palace.

CNN: Beijing adopts emergency measures for 'hazardous' pollution
Schoolchildren were ordered to halt outdoor sports activities until Tuesday this week, as a dirty cloud of smog continued to shroud China's capital. This was among a series of emergency response measures adopted in Beijing Sunday when the city's Air Quality Index exceeded 500 micrograms, the highest level. Anything above this is regarded as "beyond index."

BUSINESS

CNNMoney: Bernanke: Get rid of the debt ceiling
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is not a fan of the U.S. debt ceiling, an arbitrary borrowing limit set by Congress. "I think it would be a good thing if we didn't have it," Bernanke said, speaking at the University of Michigan on Monday. But he added that the chances seem slim that Congress would ever get rid of it. "I don't think that's going to happen," he said.

CNNMoney: Will the bank stock rally last?
Bank stocks outperformed the broader market last year, but that trend may not last in 2013. Analysts say banks face another year of sluggish revenue growth, marked by low interest rates and subdued lending activity.

CNNMoney: California could be next oil boom state
California is sitting on a massive amount of shale oil and could become the next oil boom state. But only if the industry can get the stuff out of the ground without upsetting the state's powerful environmental lobby.

In case you missed it…
CNN's Brian Todd reports on the rehearsals and crowd-control measures being taken ahead of the inauguration.