LIVE STREAM: Hostages held up by armed gunman in Sydney cafe  —  Talkback radio host Ray Hadley says he has had a conversation off-air with a hostage inside the Lindt cafe in Sydney.  —  There are a number of hostages, believed to be anywhere between 13 and 50 people, being held inside …

What does Warren want?  —  She has a spot in Democratic leadership, a swelling alliance of liberals in Congress and a rabid following in the Democratic Party.  —  The question is: What does Elizabeth Warren want to do with all that power?  —  Groups on the left are trying to draft …

Rove: CIA's Waterboarding Not Torture Like Japanese War Crimes Because We Raised Detainee's Legs  —  Republican strategist and former senior advisor to President George W. Bush argued on Sunday that the CIA's use of waterboarding on detainees could not be considered torture because it was “designed” to let the victim live.

2014 Answer of the Year  —  I hereby nominate Dick Cheney's answer to Chuck Todd's question about a United Nations official who's called for the criminal prosecution of U.S. interrogators, as the 2014 Sunday Show Answer of the Year: … Short and sweet.

Texas Cop Tasers 76-year-old Driver Over Expired Inspection: ‘Goddamned Nazi Stormtrooper’  —  A Texas police officer was placed on administrative leave on Friday after he reportedly used a Taser on a 76-year-old man after the suspect had already been forced to the ground.

Democrats must fight or lose young voters  —  The passionate stand by Americans across the country in protesting the failure of grand juries to indict policemen for killing two unarmed people - both poor, black men - is revving up the demand for a political response from Democrats in Washington.

Journalists Shouldn't Help the Sony Hackers  —  “Jolie a ‘Spoiled Brat’ From ‘Crazyland,’ ” says The New York Post.  —  “Shocking New Reveals From Sony Hack,” says The Daily Beast.  —  “Sony's Hacked Emails Highlight Hollywood's Problems With Diversity,” says The Huffington Post.

Torture and the Truth  —  It's hard to describe it as a positive development when a branch of the federal government releases a four-hundred-and-ninety-nine- page report that explains, in meticulous detail, how unthinkable cruelty became official U.S. policy.

Will cheap oil kill Keystone?  —  Greens who want President Barack Obama to kill the Keystone XL pipeline are adding a new weapon to their arsenal of protests and lawsuits — the world's glut of cheap oil.  —  The same collapse in oil prices that is pumping dollars into motorists' wallets …

Up to a Point: They Made Me Write About Lena Dunham  —  P.J. O'Rourke stares into Brooklyn's heart of darkness.  —  My editor called and said, “Do a column on this Lena Dunham flap!”  —  And I said...  Actually, back up.  What I did NOT say was, “Who the hell is Lena Dumbwhat?”

Police: Man shot during traffic stop in southwest Houston  —  Two police officers opened fire on an apparently unarmed man during a traffic stop in southwest Houston Friday night, allegedly shooting him three times for not following commands.  —  HPD officers pulled over the car the man …