Sink your teeth into today's top stories from around the globe. Luck may be a lady tonight, but on New Year's, it's in the Hoppin' John. – Gilt Taste A restaurant in Turkey takes a page from the ol' “freedom fries” book by losing its French name after strained relations between the two countries. – Hurriyet Daily News Bacteria in pre-ground meat just got a whole lot scarier thanks to the FDA. – New York Times There's wood powder in your cheese, mice in your energy drinks and jiggle in your Jell-O. Plus, nine other important lessons from the year's top food stories. – Gizmodo Emergency energy boosts are coming soon to a nostril near you. – NPR

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Box lunch: Lucky peas and inhalable caffeine

Ah, Golden Globe nominations day! The most wonderful day of the year, when we learn who will be Ricky Gervais’s new crop of victims on Jan. 15, as he hosts the Most Important Trophy Show for No Particular Reason, live, on NBC. The fresh blood includes Zooey Deschanel, Laura Dern and Matt LeBlanc — their respective series “New Girl,” “Enlightened” and “Episodes” are among the nominated shows for best comedy. Good luck, guys! Read full article > >

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Golden Globes embrace new TV series ‘Homeland,’ ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Boss’

The Space Shuttle Discovery will land at the National Air and Space Museum, giving it another important piece of space history.

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Space Shuttle Discovery to land at Air and Space Museum

Apparently, the Internets think that Megan is a government agent assigned the important task of marginalizing Ron Paul. One of her interlocutors wrote, “I’m not saying she’s some kind of goverment agent but if they did create an agent to discredit Ron Paul and others, he/she would say alot of things McArdle says.” Says Megan: “I think the really important question here is: what agency do I work for?  Can you discern a pattern in my posts, or have I managed to throw people off trail with carefully calibrated criticism of the agency?  Inquiring minds–by which I mean the shadowy government overlords who write my performance reviews–want to know.” It’s kind of an open secret around The Atlantic offices that Megan actually works for the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. Most of the time, when she’s not blogging, she’s tasking satellites that have been programmed to track Ron Paul’s thoughts as they arrive from outer space.

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Is Megan McArdle a Government Agent?

As Congress returns from its Thanksgiving recess, it still has a lot on its plate. In the final stretch of this lame-duck 111th Congress, legislators must address Bush-era tax cuts, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the ratification of a new arms-control treaty with Russia. With all of the important issues left to resolve, why is the House Ethics Committee dragging its feet regarding the investigation of Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-California)? read more

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The Case Against Congresswoman Maxine Waters: All Sizzle and No Steak