Obama heads to Hawaii for "sleep and sun" after challenging year

The U.S. First Family heads to Hawaii for Christmas just hours after President Barack Obama held a year-end news conference where he declined to engage in a bout of political soul-searching and said that despite a botched health care rollout and stalled legislative initiatives, his year had not been all that bad.

He acknowledged setbacks but declined to dwell on them at a year-end news conference in the White House briefing room hours before escaping Washington for two weeks of what he described as "sleep and sun" in Hawaii.