Snow falls as a group of ultra-orthodox Jews pose for a snapshot next to the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City. (Image: Bernat Armangue/AP/Press Association Images)

Here are the things we learned, loved and shared today.

THINGS WE LEARNED

#ABORTION: The Oireachtas hearings on proposed abortion law reforms wrapped up today with presentations from various religious, pro-life and pro-choice groups. TheJournal.ie‘s live-blogging staff followed all the action in the Seanad chamber – see exactly what happened here.

#ASSISTED SUICIDE: Marie Fleming, who suffers from terminal multiple sclerosis, failed in her legal attempt to have suicide laws which forbid her partner from assisting her in ending her own life declared unconstitutional.

#SCHOOL SHOOTING: Two people have been injured in another school shooting in the US. Today’s incident happened in California.

#HEALTH PLAN: The HSE has published its plan for 2013, outlining how it will achieve cuts worth €721 million.

#POLITICS: A new opinion poll has found that support for Sinn Féin is waning slightly, while Fianna Fáil’s popularity is on the up again.

#AWARDS SEASON: All the glitz and glam of Hollywood will be out in full force over the next few weeks as the film industry prepares for the Oscars. The nominations were announced today by current IT girl Emma Stone and Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane, and included nods for Ireland’s Seamus McGarvey and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly.

THINGS WE LOVED

• Random acts of kindess. Fifty-year-old Gheorghe Lactu (above) is a Serbian citizen living in Spain. Last year, he lost his job in Pamplona and had taken to begging on the streets to earn enough money to keep a roof over his family. In these pictures, he reacts to the news that an anonymous person called a Spanish television station to say they will pay his rent.

(Images: Alvaro Barrientos/AP/Press Association Images)

• Aengus MacGrianna. Always and forever.
• But we might cheat on him with Jennifer Lawrence. Look at her.
• Throwing our hands in the air to the tune of Destiny’s Child. Or is that just us?

THINGS WE SHARED

• This is what our new €5 note will look like. Thoughts?
• Photographer Sergey Semenov‘s simply stunning interactive image of New York City. Check it out on The Telegraph’s website.
• Is the word ‘baby’ overused in pop songs? Maybe:

(YouTube Credit: Chad Neidt)

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