At least 5 killed in shooting at LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs, police say  —  A shooting at an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs killed five people and injured 18 others overnight, police said early Sunday.  —  Club Q, where police said the first call came in minutes before midnight, described it as a “hate attack.”

Cigars, Booze, Money: How a Lobbying Blitz Made Sports Betting Ubiquitous  —  The gambling industry and its allies got their way with lawmakers after showering them with donations, gifts and dubious arguments.  —  TOPEKA, Kan. — Representative John Barker, a cattle breeder …

Trump snubs Twitter after Musk announces reactivation of ex-president's account  —  Donald Trump on Saturday said he had no interest in returning to Twitter even as a slim majority voted in favor of reinstating the former U.S. president, who was banned from the social media service for inciting violence …

Kinzinger: McCarthy won't ‘last very long’ if elected Speaker  —  Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) predicted House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) won't “last very long” if he becomes Speaker when Republicans take control of the lower chamber in January.

Trump's growing GOP challengers revive fears of 2016 repeat  —  Memories of the tumultuous 2016 Republican primary hung over the Las Vegas ballroom this weekend during the first major gathering of the party's potential contenders for the 2024 nomination.  No fewer than 10 White House prospects stepped onto …

What Elephant?  AP Denies that There is Any Evidence That Joe Biden Discussed Hunter's Business Dealings  —  For those of us who have written about the Hunter Biden scandal and the family's influence-peddling operation for years, it is routine to read media stories denying the facts …

Innocence Sold: Florida hotels have stacked up thousands of violations of a 2019 sex-trafficking law.  But not one has been fined.  —  First of four parts.  —  The assault spilled into the fifth-floor hallway of the Plaza Hotel on State Road 7 in Fort Lauderdale.

How the Pelosi Attack Suspect Plunged Into Online Hatred  —  David DePape's life was unstable when he embraced Gamergate and far-right conspiracy theories.  He is now accused of breaking into Speaker Nancy Pelosi's home and assaulting her husband.  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Bitter over the end …

Russians struggle to make sense of Ukraine war after Kherson retreat … On a snowy afternoon in Moscow this week, a trickle of people entered a vast hall under the Kremlin walls, past armed riot police, to see an exhibition on what Russia still describes as a “special military operation” in Ukraine after nine months of war.

Justice Alito denies allegation of a leak in 2014 case about access to birth control  —  Justice Samuel Alito denied allegations Saturday from a former anti-abortion activist that his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, played a role in revealing the outcome of a pending Supreme Court case in 2014.

Biden agrees to pay climate REPARATIONS: US will pay up to $1BN to compensate developing countries for global warming - but gas-guzzling China WON'T have to pay into global fund  — The fund, negotiated at the UN's COP27 Summit, was originally known as a ‘loss and damage’ fund and had been blocked by previous administrations

Iran's Security Forces Crack Down on Protest Movement in Kurdish Region  —  Iranian forces fire live ammunition and raid homes in search of opponents in an effort to crack down on a two-month old protest movement  —  Iranian security forces swept through the country's Kurdish region …