On this updated version of Hot off the Wire (posted Jan. 5 at 6:56 a.m. CT): Thousands of faithful, political leaders and the pope himself mourned Benedict XVI at a rare requiem Mass for a dead pontiff presided over by a living one. Pope Francis opened the service with a prayer and closed it by solemnly blessing the simple casket. Damaging winds and heavy rains in California have knocked out power to tens of thousands, caused flash flooding and left a child dead after a tree fell on a home. House Republicans plowed through the second day of the new Congress, with no clear off-ramp from their political chaos over electing leader Kevin McCarthy as the new speaker.
Peyton Hillis, former NFL running back, in critical condition after saving children from drowning
