Hostages freed from Texas synagogue, governor says  —  BREAKING: “All hostages are out alive and safe,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) tweeted about 9:30 p.m. local time, after a loud boom and what sounded like gunshots erupted from the area near the synagogue where police had been in a standoff with a hostage-taker for much of Saturday.

How the ‘Djokovic Affair’ Finally Came to an End  —  Novak Djokovic lost to a government with powerful laws, determined to make an example out of him.  —  SYDNEY, Australia — The day before the Australian Open was set to begin, Novak Djokovic, possibly the greatest tennis player of all time …

Biden at year one: Not enough focus on inflation leaves many frustrated  —  On one level, the story of President Biden's first year is a simple one: Americans feel worse about the pandemic and economy than they did earlier in his term, and his ratings have suffered for it.

Omicron becomes a blessing in disguise for Britain's economic recovery  —  Less severe variant inspires optimism that the UK is now in the Covid ‘end game’  —  Boris Johnson may feel he has little choice when deciding whether to ditch Plan B.  —  Just as persuasive as the extremely positive …

Reconstruction-Era Law Could Keep Trump Off Presidential Ballot In 6 Southern States  —  The language letting them back into the Union required them to enforce the 14th Amendment's ban on insurrectionists in federal or state office.  —  By S.V. Date  —  Should former President Donald Trump run …

Trump Soft-Launches His 2024 Campaign  —  FLORENCE, Ariz.—Tonight, deep in the Arizona desert, thousands of people chanted for Donald Trump.  They had braved the wind for hours—some waited the entire day—just to get a glimpse of the defeated former president.

Teeing Up with QAnon  —  What would Groucho say?  Would you rather belong to a club that had the proprietor of a porn shop as a member?  Or Marjorie Taylor Greene?  —  In the spring of 2006, Charles T. Craton III, a businessman in northwestern Georgia, best known for his work on Chick-fil-A's …

‘The days of state-run TV are over’: Nadine Dorries clobbers the BBC with a £2billion funding cut as she freezes the licence fee for two years, with a row over ‘Left-wing bias’ threatening to spill out into all-out war with the Corporation  — Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries freezes annual £159 fee for the next two years

How the states have become “Laboratories of Autocracy” — and why it's worse than you think  —  Former Ohio Democratic Party head David Pepper has a dire warning: Rigged state legislatures are destroying America  —  There's a booming literature on the erosion of democracy in America …

Trump's ‘Crimes Flow Through’ Oath Keepers' Sedition Indictment: Former Prosecutor  —  Former U.S. Army prosecutor Glenn Kirschner said that former President Donald Trump's “crimes flow through” the seditious conspiracy indictment against members of the far-right Oath Keepers group due …

Deranged man pushes Asian woman to death at Times Square subway station  —  A deranged homeless man allegedly shoved an Asian woman to her death in front of an oncoming subway train Saturday morning in Times Square, police said.  —  The horrifying episode unfolded at 9:40 a.m. just nine minutes …

Why would Putin invade Ukraine?  —  Troubles at home may be his strongest motive  —  The looming threat of a full-scale Russian attack on Ukraine kept the world on edge for much of 2021, and for good reason — an attack of this magnitude would arguably be the most significant invasion …

University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel fired by board after investigation  —  The University of Michigan Board of Regents has unanimously fired school President Mark Schlissel for cause following an investigation into a relationship with a subordinate, the board announced Saturday evening.

Netanyahu negotiating plea deal in corruption trial  —  TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is negotiating a plea deal in his corruption case, a person involved in the talks said Sunday.  —  The deal, which could be signed as early as this week …