In the news

Pope Francis was selected as Time magazine’s Person of the Year, with the publication saying the Catholic Church’s new leader has changed the perception of the 2,000-year-old institution in an extraordinary way in a short time.

James Dobson , the nationally syndicated Christian radio broadcaster, sued the federal government over a requirement in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that his ministry must include the morning-after pill and other emergency contraception in its health insurance.

Katherine Clark ,a Democratic state senator, easily defeated three opponents to win U.S. Sen. Edward Markey’s vacant congressional seat and become the fifth woman to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. House.

Doris Payne , the 83-year- old career jewel thief whose exploits have grabbed international headlines, was ordered to stand trial in a Riverside County, Calif., case in which she’s accused of stealing a diamond-encrusted ring from a jewelry store in October.

David Warren , a former New Orleans police officer, was acquitted at his retrial in federal court of fatally shooting 31-yearold Henry Glover without justification outside a strip mall in Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath.

Stanley Wrice , 59, who for decades insisted that Chicago police tortured him until he confessed to rape, walked out of an Illinois prison after 30 years after a judge ordered his release.

Bill de Blasio , the mayor-elect of New York, announced that he and his family would be moving into Gracie Mansion in Manhattan, making his the first family to live in the official residence since Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

David Cameron , the British prime minister, said in Parliament that he was only being polite when he posed for a self-taken photograph at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service, deflecting complaints that he was being disrespectful during the occasion.

John Podesta , a new senior adviser to President Barack Obama who has spoken out against the Keystone XL oil pipeline, will not be involved in deliberations on the pipeline, the White House said.

Daniel Van Luven , 44, of Moravia, N.Y., pleaded guilty to manufacturing methamphetamine, admitting that the fire that damaged an apartment started when he was making meth and not chicken wings as he originally told police.