Vivek Murthy confirmed as surgeon general  —  The Senate on Monday narrowly confirmed Vivek Murthy to be the nation's surgeon general, making him one of the highest-profile beneficiaries of the Senate's nuclear option.  —  The nomination was strongly opposed by the National Rifle Association …

Australia commandos end Sydney cafe siege  —  Australian commandos have stormed a cafe in Sydney, ending a 16-hour siege by a gunman identified as an Iranian refugee who took dozens of hostages.  —  Paramedics carrying stretchers raced towards the cafe moments after the commandos entered the building.

Get Ready for the Obama Boomlet  —  Remember when pundits loved the president?  The conditions are right for that old feeling to return.  —  Remember when pundits loved Barack Obama?  It's been quite a few years now.  But I suspect some of the adoration is about to come back.  —  There are three reasons.

Sen. Warren Warns That Spending Bill Sets Dangerous Precedent  —  Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. (right), a member of the Senate banking committee, and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., ranking member of the House financial services committee, express their outrage to reporters …

Martin Place, Sydney siege gunman identified as Man Haron Monis  —  Siege hostage taker identified as Man Monis  —  The man who held more than a dozen people hostage, placing Sydney's CBD into lockdown is no stranger to the NSW police or the judiciary.  —  Self-described cleric …

Eight Things I Wish for Wall Street  —  It's a wonderful life on Wall Street, yet here is a holiday wish list to make it even better.  —  1. The financial sector rids itself of anyone with even the faintest reason to believe that he or she is unusually clever.

Harrisburg man insulted by racial slur found on Zembie's receipt  —  Marquis Moore displays a Zembie's receipt containing a racial slur a bartender used to identify him with after he placed a to-go order at the Harrisburg bar Saturday night. … Marquis Moore was about to eat an order …

Cleveland Cops Demand Apology For Browns Player's Tamir Rice Protest Shirt  —  A Cleveland police union has demanded that the Cleveland Browns football team apologize for a player who wore a T-shirt before Sunday's game protesting the police shootings of two black people.

Meeting Ayn Rand on the Las Vegas Strip  —  For eight days last summer, a new generation of Randians was indoctrinated in the auditoriums of The Venetian.  Where better to absorb Atlas Shrugged 's teachings than in a city of extremes?  —  111-degree heat is confounding …

About Half See CIA Interrogation Methods as Justified  —  Democrats Divided over CIA's Post-9/11 Interrogation Techniques  —  Following the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on CIA interrogation practices in the period following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks …

Why TheWeek.com is closing the comments section  —  In the age of social media, the smartest and most vibrant reader conversations have moved off of news sites and onto Facebook and Twitter  —  Here at The Week, we have a deep respect for the intelligence and opinions of our readers …

Uber answers Al Franken, takes aim at privacy questions  —  Uber on Monday strongly defended its privacy practices, telling Sen. Al Franken in a letter that the company “prohibits employees from accessing rider personal information except for business purposes” — but the Democratic senator said he still isn't convinced.

The world according to Garth  —  Remembering the pioneer of the modern political ad.  —  He cut his teeth producing high school sports for local television, and his first political crusade was Adlai Stevenson's sentimental presidential campaign in 1960.  He made the on-air advertisements …

Branstad seeks to end Iowa GOP straw poll  —  DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad is pushing to end the state's Republican straw poll, but the state party chairman says the event may still go on next year.  —  Branstad said Monday that the poll — traditionally held in Ames …

A Shooter, His Victim and Race  —  TAMPA, Fla. — IAN MANUEL is a black man who has spent most of his life in prison.  Yet he still has a most unusual advocate calling for his release: a white woman whom he met when he shot her in the face.  —  Manuel fired the bullet when he was barely 13 …

Dick Cheney Defends the Torture of Innocents  —  When I was growing up, Americans thought of torture as a tactic used by history's villains.  A brutal dictator might keep a depraved regime in power with torture.  People in foreign countries might suffer inside torture chambers.

12. Because a Stuyvesant Senior Made Millions Picking Stocks.  His Hedge Fund Opens as Soon As He Turns 18.  —  Rumors, on Wall Street, can be powerful.  A whisper can turn into a current that moves markets, driving a stock price up or sending it tumbling.

2014 Lie of the Year: Exaggerations about Ebola  —  Thomas Eric Duncan left Monrovia, Liberia, on Sept. 19, for Dallas.  Eleven days later, doctors diagnosed Duncan with Ebola.  —  Eight days after that, he was dead.  —  Duncan's case is just one of two Ebola-related fatalities in the United States …

CAUGHT ON VIDEO: Hate-crime vandalism against conservative student  —  Security camera footage obtained Sunday by The College Fix shows a group of females changing into hoodies and other baggy clothing and proceeding to vandalize a conservative student's apartment doorway.

Ruble Tumbles Most Since 1998 as Traders Pressure Central Bank  —  The ruble tumbled the most since 1998, sliding past 60 for the first time, as traders tested Russia's willingness to defend the currency amid an oil slump that's pushing the economy toward recession.