1. The Senate confirmed Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts as the next Secretary of State Tuesday. Kerry was voted into the position by a vote of 94-3 and received a round of applause, following his 28-year service on the Senate.

2. President Barack Obama announced Tuesday his plans for immigration reform. He spoke at a school in Las Vegas, where the majority of students were of Hispanic heritage. Obama said he knows there will be many debates over the issues because it is “emotional and challenging,” but he believes that “now’s the time” to find a solution for a growing problem. In 2012, the government said there were more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in America.

3. Israel’s former prime minister, Ariel Sharon, is showing brain activity after being in a coma for seven years. Sharon, 85, suffered a stroke and a brain hemorrhage in 2006, but on Monday, he made a surprising turn, according to his team of doctors. His doctors and neuroscientists showed him pictures of his family and said his brain responded. The doctors have not confirmed if this change in state could mean the former politician will wake up.

4. French President Francois Hollande said, “We are winning in Mali.” However, the president did admit that militants still control a majority of the north. He discussed plans for the war and what has occurred so far at a news conference Monday. He did not say how long France would keep troops in Mali. There are 2,150 French troops in the country currently, plus an additional thousand in bordering nations. Britain said Tuesday that it will provide support to France but will not take part in combat. The European Union will give $67 million to aid European efforts in Mali.

5. Brendan Marrocco, 26, is a quadruple amputee. He lost both of his arms and legs while serving in Iraq in 2009. He was driving an armored vehicle when roadside bombs went off. According to John Hopkins Hospital, he is the first amputee soldier to lose all four limbs. After a 13-hour surgery, he has two new arms thanks to a transplant. He is expected to have a successful recovery with full use of the arms. The surgery was tested on cadavers for 18 months before Marrocco went into the operating room.

Contact Maura Zurick at [email protected].