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Anchored by Jake Tapper, The Lead airs at 4 p.m. ET on CNN.
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national lead
Welcome to the polar vortex
(CNN) - On Monday morning, Nashville was 40 degrees colder than Albany, New York. Memphis, Tennessee, was 20 degrees colder than Anchorage, Alaska. And Atlanta was colder than Moscow.
But the U.S. South was downright balmy compared to the Great Lakes region, where temperatures hovered in the negative 20s - before wind chill, which dropped temps to the negative 50s, making it very dangerous to go outside.
money lead
Get your 'geek' on: Best of the CES
(CNN) - Entertainment addicts have the Oscars, sports fans have the Super Bowl, but for techies, geeks and gadget junkies, it doesn't get much bigger than the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas.
Companies from around the world are gathering in Sin City this week to dazzle with their new inventions, and state-of-the-art gizmos.
Will this be the year where someone finally unveils a "Star Trek" style transporter? Are they selling phones yet that sound like Scarlett Johansson?
Senior editor and host of CNET.com Brian Tong shares the latest gadgets on display.
pop lead
Golden Globes week: Actor Steve Coogan responds to criticism 'Philomena' is anti-Catholic
(CNN) - "Philomena" is a movie earning Oscar and Golden Globes buzz. Based on the true story of Philomena Lee, the film stars Judi Dench as an Irish woman who spends nearly 50 years searching for a son she had to give up when he was just a toddler, and she an unwed teenager. Catholic nuns took the boy and had him adopted in the United States – a common practice in Ireland at the time – and then refused to help Philomena re-connect with her son. She crosses paths with a journalist who decides to document her story, played by actor Steve Coogan.
"Philomena" is nominated for three Golden Globes, including one for best screenplay - which would go to producer, writer, and co-star Steve Coogan. And while the movie has been well received, it has also been widely criticized.
FULL POST
national lead
Labor Secretary: Unemployment insurance does not deter jobless from looking for work
(CNN) - The U.S. Senate votes Monday on a bill to restore unemployment benefits for nearly 1.3 million Americans.
The bill would extend long-term jobless benefits, originally introduced after the banking crash of 2008 under then-President George W. Bush. They actually already expired on December 28.
President Barack Obama and many in his party want to reinstate and extend unemployment insurance - but that was not included in the bipartisan budget deal that Congress passed before the end of the year.
"Extending unemployment benefits has historically enjoyed overwhelming bipartisan support," Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez said on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper." "President Bush signed laws into effect for emergency unemployment compensation five times. And it was done on a bipartisan fashion five times."
FULL POST
politics lead
Roundtable: Hilary Clinton's shadow campaign
(CNN) - While Hillary Clinton is busy deciding her political future, an entire "shadow campaign" is already making moves on behalf of the former secretary of state, according to Politico's Maggie Haberman.
Haberman says that it's not just Ready for Hillary PAC either, but the Obama-aligned superPAC Priorities USA Action is re-making itself as a Clinton-world subsidiary.
This already looks like a full-fledged operation, one that's been going on for the better part of a year.
CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Kevin Madden, associate editor of The Hill A.B. Stoddard, and host of CNN's "Crossfire" and former Obama White House official Van Jones discuss.
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