FIRST LOOK: Immigration court backlog at all-time high

Welcome to First Look, our daily round-up of early bird news:

• A study says home prices would be lower if the mortgage market were privatized. (WSJ)

• President Obama urged the Chamber of Commerce's business leaders to start hiring. (Washington Post)

• The United States is backing off calls for swift reform in Egypt. (LA Times)

• Some of the Bell, California, city offiicals who paid themselves as much as $800,000 a year have rejected plea deals. (Bloomberg)

• Chipotle is firing hundreds of workers amid a federal immigration probe. (Daily Finance)

• The case backlog for immigration courts reached an all-time high in December 2011. (TRAC)

• A cold front wiped out 10 percent of the animals at a Mexican zoo. (CNN)

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