NPR News

Of all the individuals in President Obama's first-term Cabinet, physicist Steven Chu was arguably the least likely to be found in official Washington.

The Energy Department secretary, after all, was a Nobel Prize-winning physicist from the University of California, Berkeley, the first science laureate to serve as a Cabinet secretary.

Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan will retire after 30 years in service, The Associated Press and other news outlets are reporting.

Sullivan is retiring after a tough year for the agency. If you remember, 11 of its agents were involved in a prostitution scandal in Colombia.

The Consumer Products Safety Commission says that "child-resistant" caps on some bottles of cough and flu syrup aren't as sturdy as advertised.

That's a problem, because products implicated in the agency's latest recall announcement — Triaminic and Theraflu syrups and "warming liquids" — contain acetaminophen and diphenhydramine.

Happy days are (or might be) here again: The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 14,000 Friday, marking the first time the stock market measure has broken that barrier at close since October 2007.

The average closed at 14,009.79. That's up more than 149 points, or about 1.1 percent for the day. The closing comes hours after the release of a new monthly unemployment report that indicated jobs grew at a faster rate late last year than previously estimated.

As the debate on guns heats up, there is one thing we can all be certain of: Lots of statistics will be thrown about.

On this blog, we've already pointed to a Department of Homeland Security study on commonalities in mass shootings.

Today, we'll point you a study commissioned by Mayors Against Illegal Guns. As the name implies, the group led by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is advocating for stronger gun control laws.

A few years ago, before "CTE" was as much a part of football conversations as "quarterback rating" or "wild card spot," I had a conversation with some friends about unsettling news stories that linked the sport to brain injury.

As we spoke, an avowed hater of sports piped up. "Football, as it's currently played, is completely indefensible," she said.

Hillary Clinton formally resigned as the 67th secretary of state, just moments ago.

In a letter to President Obama, she said it was an "honor to serve."

"I am more convinced than ever in the strength and staying power of America's global leadership and our capacity to be a force for good in the world," she said.

She concluded, "On a personal note, it has been a pleasure to work with you and your team. Thank you, Mr. President, for your friendship, and for the opportunity to serve in your Cabinet."