A&E Welcomes Phil Robertson Back to ‘Duck Dynasty’  —  Less than two weeks after his anti-gay remarks prompted an “indefinite hiatus” for the reality patriarch — and a strong fan backlash — the network says he will remain on the series.  —  Phil Robertson, “Duck Dynasty”

Judge Upholds N.S.A.'s Bulk Collection of Data on Calls  —  WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday ruled that a National Security Agency program that collects enormous troves of phone records is legal, making the latest contribution to an extraordinary debate among courts and a presidential review group …

Hundreds of teens trash mall in wild flash mob  —  Hundreds of teenagers stormed and trashed a Brooklyn mall in a wild flash mob that forced the shopping center to close its doors during day-after Christmas sales, sources said on Friday.  —  More than 400 crazed teens grabbed and smashed jars of candy …

New York Soon to Trail Florida in Population  —  ALBANY — New York, whose status as the most populous state has long been ceded, will soon fall behind Florida into fourth place, a long-anticipated drop that is rife with symbolism and that could carry potentially serious economic consequences in coming years.

Moguls Rent South Dakota Addresses to Dodge Taxes Forever  —  Pierce H. McDowell III, president of South Dakota Trust Co., in his office in Sioux Falls.  The newspaper clipping is from March 1934, when a notorious gang robbed the local Security National Bank.  McDowell's grandfather worked as a trust officer at the bank.

Obamacare's Pajama Boy: ‘I am a liberal f***’  —  Ethan Krupp, the little man who played “Pajama Boy” in a widely mocked Obamacare ad, once characterized himself as a “liberal f**k.”  —  Krupp, an Organizing for Action (OFA) content writer who became the face of progressive America while wearing …

Unreturned library books can mean jail time  —  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Call it throwing the book at the bookworms.  —  A Texas man who was arrested for failing to return an overdue library book ignited an online flurry of snarky comments and headlines about the Lone Star State extending its tough-on-crime bravado to books.

What's Next?  First, Let Me Say Thanks  —  There is a fundamental optimism that is wired into the DNA of America and its true capital - New York City.  We are a place that people come to improve their condition.  And once here we are unified by a common aspiration - to leave our kids a place better than the one we found.

Obama's year of missteps  —  President Obama might want to forget all about 2013.  —  In his second inaugural address in January, the president laid out a confident, liberal vision.  As the year ends, none of his objectives have come to pass, his approval ratings are at historic lows …

Mass., Vt. halt payments to firm behind health sites  —  WASHINGTON — Even as President Obama's health insurance website limps to recovery, at least two states that used the same contractor and are still plagued with malfunctions — Massachusetts and Vermont — are taking preliminary steps to recoup taxpayer dollars.