The Battle for Iran  —  Protest movements in the Middle East face enormous repressive hurdles and rarely have happy endings.  Even when protesters “succeed” in toppling an autocrat, they've rarely succeeded in ending autocracy.  —  In Iran, the obstacles to success are daunting.

Intoxicated man found with small arsenal on top floor of Hyatt Regency downtown, police say  —  HOUSTON - A man has been arrested on multiple charges after police located a small arsenal of guns on the top floor of the Hyatt Regency on Louisiana Street downtown, Houston police said.

Dave Barry's 2017 Year in Review: Did that really happen?  —  Looking back on 2017 is like waking up after a party where you made some poor decisions, such as drinking tequila squeezed from the underpants of a person you do not really know.  (At least you hope it was tequila.)

Niagara Falls is coated in ice — and absolutely jaw-dropping  —  Historian and author Paul Gromosiak once said that winter at Niagara Falls can be so breathtaking that it “diminishes even those skyscrapers” on the other side of the border in Canada.  —  Trees once thick with fall leaves …

US closer to ‘nuclear war with North Korea’ than ever before: Former Joint Chiefs head  —  The United States faces a greater threat of nuclear conflict on the Korean peninsula than at any previous time, said a former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under both presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Bernstein: Trump's lawyers tell him what he wants to hear on Russia  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  — Bernstein said White House aides have told him Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to fire Mueller  — He and his partner of Watergate reporting fame, Bob Woodward, drew parallels between Trump and Nixon

Does the White Working Class Really Vote Against Its Own Interests?  —  As his first year in the White House draws to a close, Donald J. Trump remains in almost every respect a singular character.  He exists well outside the boundaries of what most observers previously judged possible, let alone respectable, in American politics.

Chief Justice Roberts says courts will examine protections against sexual harassment  —  Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. announced an initiative Sunday to ensure there are proper procedures in place to protect law clerks and other court employees from sexual harassment …

Multiple officers shot, suspect at large, bomb squad, SWAT on scene in Douglas County  —  More than one officer shot.  —  A so far undisclosed number of Sheriff's deputies were shot Sunday morning and a Douglas County Sheriff's Office SWAT team is at the scene, a home near the 3400 block …

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Smith to join Senate, dive into campaign  —  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Lt. Gov. Tina Smith is vowing to “hit the ground running” as she joins the U.S. Senate this week while preparing to run in November.  —  Gov. Mark Dayton appointed Smith, his second-in-command …

Devin Nunes, targeting Mueller and the FBI, alarms Democrats and some Republicans with his tactics  —  Rep. Devin Nunes, once sidelined by an ethics inquiry from leading the House Intelligence Committee's Russia probe, is reasserting the full authority of his position as chairman …

California high school football player can't be forced to stand for national anthem, court rules  —  San Francisco 49ers players kneel during the national anthem before an NFL game against the Houston Texans earlier this month in Houston.  (David J. Phillip / Associated Press)

Why Defense Secretary Jim Mattis Doesn't Carry Challenge Coins: 'I'm Saving Money for Bombs'  —  At a remote military base in Jordan earlier this month, U.S. Marines were abuzz with excitement — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was in town.  —  He would not be visiting Camp Titin …

De Blasio will get a pay raise when second term begins  —  Mayor de Blasio will get a fat 15 percent raise when his second term begins Monday - bumping his salary from $225,000 to $258,750 a year.  —  The $33,750 boost is more than the annual salary of a full-time worker making the city's roughly $13 minimum wage.

Golden State Warriors coach: ‘Our core values’ as a nation are ‘under attack’  —  The coach of the NBA champion Golden State Warriors says in a new interview that America's “core values” are under attack and citizens must do more to fight false information and “propaganda.”