Navy vet, 100, persuades protesters to let him speak: ‘Give me a chance’  —  U.S. Navy veteran Dario Raschio was all smiles Saturday as he awaited a special honor from U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, who joined him at Portland Community College's Southeast Campus to present the 100-year-old with a handful of medals.

Texas Republican announces challenge to Boehner for Speaker in new Congress  —  Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Texas) said Sunday that he will challenge John Boehner (R-Ohio) as Speaker in the new Congress.  —  “I'm putting my name out there today to be another candidate for Speaker,” Gohmert said on “Fox and Friends.”

Stuart Scott dies at age of 49  —  Stuart Scott, a longtime anchor at ESPN, died Sunday morning at the age of 49.  —  Among the features of the new ESPN studio in Bristol is a wall of catchphrases made famous by on-air talent over the years.  An amazing nine of them belong to one man …

Is Life Better in America's Red States?  —  THE new Congress that starts work this week is the latest reminder of America's stark political divisions: The parties in Washington are more polarized than they have been in decades, the partisanship gap between rural Republicans and urban Democrats has grown …

At Police Funeral for Officer Liu, Many Officers Turn Their Backs to de Blasio  —  For the second time in just over a week, a sea of pressed blue uniforms filled some of New York's streets as Mayor Bill de Blasio delivered a eulogy for a police officer killed because of the badge he wore.

Pope Francis Names 15 New Cardinals From 14 Countries  —  VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis named 15 new cardinals Sunday, selecting them from 14 nations including far-flung corners of the world such as Tonga, New Zealand, Cape Verde and Myanmar to reflect the diversity of the church …

How Sharpton gets paid to not cry ‘racism’ at corporations  —  Want to influence a casino bid?  Polish your corporate image?  Not be labeled a racist?  —  Then you need to pay Al Sharpton.  —  For more than a decade, corporations have shelled out thousands of dollars in donations …

Egypt's al-Sisi Makes Extraordinary Speech on Islam  —  Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made an extraordinary speech on New Year's Day to Cairo's Al-Azhar and the Awqaf Ministry calling for a long overdue virtual ecclesiastical revolution in Islam.  This is something no Western leader …

Year of the Condo in New York City  —  At least twice as many new condominium units are scheduled to hit the Manhattan market this year as in 2014, the most since 2007.  That means more choice for buyers and some welcome competition among developers.  —  The influx comes after a five-year shortage …

How My Mom Got Hacked  —  MY mother received the ransom note on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  It popped up on her computer screen soon after she'd discovered that all of her files had been locked.  “Your files are encrypted,” it announced.  “To get the key to decrypt files you have to pay 500 USD.”

Playing Dumb on Climate Change  —  CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — SCIENTISTS have often been accused of exaggerating the threat of climate change, but it's becoming increasingly clear that they ought to be more emphatic about the risk.  The year just concluded is about to be declared the hottest one on record …