The White House pushed back against harsh criticism in Robert Gates' new memoir. The former Defense Secretary says President Barack Obama showed too little enthusiasm for the U.S. war mission in Afghanistan. He also sharply critizes Vice President Joe Biden's foreign policy instincts.

 

Emails and text messages released Wednesday link one of Governor Chris Christie's top aids to a traffic jam in a New Jersey town that appears to have been engineered as political payback against his mayor. Christie dinies his staff had anything to do with the incident which happened in September. Fort Lee's mayor refused to endorse Christie's reelection campaign.

 

And rare conjoined gray whale twins were found dead in a Mexican lagoon. Scientists believe it could be the first ever recorded case.

 

Maggie mazzetti, the Associated Press with AP News Minute.