"The British man shot dead in the Texas synagogue siege was investigated by MI5 in late 2020, Whitehall sources confirmed to The Times."

"Malik Faisal Akram, 44, was the subject of a 'short lead investigation' for at least four weeks.... The authorities were already facing questions about why Akram was able to travel to the US, where he purchased a handgun, given he had a criminal record for offences including violence... Akram, from Blackburn, who once ranted about the September 11 attacks, was part of MI5’s pool of 40,000 closed subjects of interest.... The case was closed before it progressed to a full-blown inquiry involving intrusive techniques such as eavesdropping.... When he travelled to the US in late December, Akram was not on the Home Office warnings index, the watchlist that allows police at airports to intercept would-be passengers of concern. Sources said that it would be 'disproportionate' for someone assessed as being no threat to be on the list."

The London Times reports.

I'm sure you've read elsewhere that the rabbi engineered the escape — which involved throwing a chair at the armed hostage-taker. I like this justifiably proud statement by the rabbi, Jeffrey Cohen: "We escaped. We weren’t released or freed." 

"A newborn baby who was found abandoned in an egg box in Siberia during temperatures as low as minus 20C is doing well..."

"The baby girl was discovered by a group of teenage boys on a remote snowy road near the village of Sosnovka in Russia’s Novosibirsk region. She was wrapped in an old rag and there was a feeding bottle next to her. 'We thought it was a doll at first.... It was a shock.'... It was initially feared that she could have suffered frostbite and would not survive, but doctors warmed her up by carefully rubbing her arms and legs... The discovery came on January 7, the date that Russian Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas Day. Anna and Dmitry Litvinov, whose teenage son was one of the baby’s rescuers, have said they would like to adopt the child, but they will have to wait to see if any relatives can be traced first...."

The London Times reports.

 ADDED: That's -4 Fahrenheit.