In the news

■ G. K. Butterfield, a North Carolina congressman for 18 years, explained that he was beginning a new job involving lobbying and policy work and needed to be on the payroll before the new year to get his benefits in place, so he took to the House floor to announce his retirement one day early.

■ Pamela Baker- Masson of the National Zoo in Washington said the giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji, now 2 years old, has begun visiting a new habitat area as he comes “of the age to ‘move’ away from his mother and go live on his own.”

■ Barbara Chalmers, 74, pleaded guilty to embezzling $29 million from the Dallas family that employed her as a bookkeeper for a charitable foundation and several companies, writing herself 175 checks and financing her own construction business.

■ Pedro Nuno Santos, the Portuguese government’s chief official in charge of transportation, resigned amid an outcry over a $532,000 golden parachute for a board member of the state airline, the 10th official to step down since the Socialist Party took over.

■ Juan Jose, 46, whose surname is confidential, is the 132nd person to be identified by DNA tests as one of an estimated 500 people who were snatched from their mothers as babies during Argentina’s 1976-83 military dictatorship and illegally adopted.

■ Joan Moriarty, a Missouri circuit judge, ruled that a pardon from the governor has no bearing on a plea agreement, meaning the St. Louis lawyer and his wife who gained national attention for waving guns at racial injustice protesters won’t get back their rifle, their pistol or the $2,750 in fines they paid.

■ Mark Goins, Tennessee’s elections coordinator, cited “human error” by Nashville election officials as a main cause of 430 voters being led to cast ballots in the wrong races after they were assigned to incorrect districts.

■ Lauren Andrews, owner of Capital Cannabis Co. in Montpelier, Vt., which just began selling recreational marijuana, said the shop is quickly “developing a very strong loyal customer base,” with sales boosted by the approach of the recent snowstorm.

■ Alex Fernandez, a city commissioner in Miami Beach, Fla., hailed the smoking ban at municipal parks and public beaches effective New Year’s Day, saying, “Cigarette butts are not the butts our 18 million visitors want to see.”