Holding hands and smiling despite the chilly weather, President Barack Obama, his wife, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha, took a walk across the street from the White House to St. John’s Episcopal Church Sunday morning to attend the worship service.

With the first family sitting on a pew, the Rev. Dr. Luis Leon spoke about John the Baptist and discussed Obama in his sermon, according to pool reports.

The pastor told the congregation that the expectations Americans had from Obama could be compared with illusions people had about John the Baptist at the time of Jesus. The religious leaders of the time had great expectations from John the Baptist but he told them he was neither the Messiah nor the prophet, but a voice calling in the wilderness, Leon told the congregation. Even Americans thought Obama would bring an immediate change, the pastor added. more >>

A report released Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says that 2011's natural disasters each caused at least $1 billion in damage. Ranging from blizzards to brushfires, the collection of natural phenomena is costing American taxpayers in total $52 billion.

"In many ways, 2011 rewrote the record books," said Chris Vaccaro, a NOAA spokesperson, in an e-mail. "It's taken a huge financial toll with high economic losses and a heavy loss of life with more than 1,000 weather-related fatalities and more than 8,000 people injured."

Vaccaro said his organization has overseen data collection on disasters as varied as blizzards, heat waves and floods since 1980. He said that a major factor in increasing damage and fatalities was La Nina, a cyclical climate pattern that reroutes typical storm patterns, sending them in unfamiliar directions. He said they hit high-population centers they'd normally leave alone. more >>

A heavy rain and snowstorm is headed towards the U.S. East Coast and is expected to hit the region Wednesday.

It already dropped four inches of snow in New Mexico and pounded parts of Texas.

Heavy rain is expected to sweep into the eastern third of the country and is likely to cause large traffic jams and damage. The storm is carrying heavy rains in the front, while snow looms behind and is expected to hit later in the evening. more >>

This time of year is usually filled with songs about baby Jesus and expressions of the great joy that emanates from the Christmas story. It seems no one told actor Johnny Depp who lent his voice to the rock band Babybird for a Christmas song filled with images of a drunken, party going Jesus, in the song “Jesus Stag Night Club.”

The song portrays Jesus as the facilitator for a stag night or better known in the states as a bachelor party. Hired by a group of teenagers believing him to be a look-alike, they discover in the end that he wasn’t a fake but the real Jesus.

During the night Jesus invites many to his night club as he enjoys his drunken night which leaves him passed out by the end. more >>

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was yet again criticized for his “flip-flops” Sunday, when President Barack Obama’s campaign adviser, Robert Gibbs, said the former Massachusetts governor is a “political gymnast” who changes positions just to get elected.

“I think the reason that Mitt Romney… hasn’t caught fire is if you hear what he says today, it’s likely to change tomorrow,” Gibbs, former White House press secretary, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

Calling Romney “a political gymnast of the highest order,” Gibbs said, “He will say virtually anything to get elected to any office.” more >>

More than 200,000 people in Southern California and some parts of Utah are still without power after this week’s windstorm, which reported shocking peak gusts of up to 101 mph.

Damaging homes, knocking out power lines, and toppling trees, the violent winds that blasted through Los Angeles early Thursday through Friday morning blew out the electricity to more than 350,000 customers in California, while an additional 55,000 residents in Utah also reported power outages, Reuters reported.

Mayor Michael D. Antonovich declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles County as a result of the violent gusts, “to ensure that state and federal financial resources [were] available to serve county residents impacted by the storm.” more >>