NYT: A once-great American city is now being sold for scrap.

NYT: After 8 decades in Wichita, Boeing is shuttering another plant.

AP: Weekly first-time unemployment claims are now at the lowest level in 4 years.

USAT: Factory output in December rose at the highest level in 2011.

NYT: President Obama is increasingly vulnerable with swing voters, thanks in no small part to the weak economy.

WSJ: Analysis of Mitt Romney’s tax rate.

WaPo: Yet another Chinese civil rights activist has been sentenced to prison.

NYT: Op-Ed on china’s lack of soft power.

WSJ: Crackdowns on copyright violations draw ire from China.

The Hill: Conference Committee to convene on a year-long payroll tax extension.