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 …

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.

EXCLUSIVE: New York Mag's Boy Genius Investor Made It All Up  —  In an exclusive Observer interview, Mohammed Islam, said to have investment returns of $72 million as a hs senior, admits he invented the whole story  —  Damir Tulemaganbetov and Mohammed Islam (r) in the office of 5WPR …

Ted Cruz reignites GOP civil war  —  Republican senators pounded Ted Cruz over the weekend, lashing him for his procedural tactics and ultimately voting in large numbers against his immigration gambit.  —  Now, Cruz's allies off Capitol Hill are looking for revenge.  —  Story Continued Below

Cleveland Browns receiver Andrew Hawkins delivers emotional response to Cleveland police union's reaction to ‘Justice for Tamir Rice’ shirt  —  Adam Ferrise, Northeast Ohio Media Group By Adam Ferrise, Northeast Ohio Media Group  —  CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland Browns wide receiver Andrew Hawkins defended …

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.

Govt urges dismissal of lawsuit over immigration  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is urging dismissal of a lawsuit that would dismantle the president's immigration program, an initiative designed to spare nearly 5 million people in the U.S. illegally from deportation.

Bill Clinton: Eric Garner 'didn't deserve to die'  —  Bill Clinton urged people to move beyond hard-wire racial perceptions and said that the unarmed black man killed after an apparent chokehold by police in New York City “didn't deserve to die.”  —  Clinton made the comments in an interview with Fusion …

APNewsBreak: Insurers ease ‘Obamacare’ deadline  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Trying to head off a new round of consumer headaches with President Barack Obama's health care law, the insurance industry says it will give customers more time to pay their premiums for January.

Survey: E-cigs surpass regular cigs in teen use  —  Associated Press 1 hr ago  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Electronic cigarettes have surpassed traditional smoking in popularity among teens, the government's annual drug use survey finds.  —  Even as tobacco smoking by teens dropped to new lows …

Nothing Succeeds Like Liberal Secession: Blue America Without Red America Would Be A Basket Case  —  The July 4, 2019, ceremony marking the final dissolution of the United States of America was quite amicable compared to the anger and bitterness of the preceding five years.

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 …

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.

DOD wants bullet that can change direction after being fired  —  New .50-caliber bullets that can change direction after they have been fired could soon make U.S. military snipers more deadly.  —  The EXACTO program — or Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance — is being developed …

Dick Cheney's grotesque legacy: Why the record is so much worse than reported  —  But this is Dick Cheney's real contribution to America  —  As many of us wade through the horror of the Senate torture report, it's hard not to think back to a time when the man who ran the country explained to us in plain language what he was doing.

Men who like spicier food are ‘alpha males’ with higher levels of testosterone, French report claims  —  French researchers say men with a taste for spicy food have higher testosterone and eating hot peppers may raise levels of the “alpha male” hormone  —  French gourmets have traditionally shunned hot …

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 …

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 …

Pope Francis offers US help in closing Guantanamo  —  Vatican City (AFP) - The Vatican on Monday offered to help the United States in its efforts to close Guantanamo prison, a goal fervently supported by Pope Francis.  —  The offer came during talks between the pontiff's Secretary of State …