1.

2. Extremist group Boko Haram launches fresh assault on town and warns Nigerians they face being killed if they vote in the country’s upcoming elections

3.

4. Ross Douthat on Christian Grey & Caligula:

A real-life Christian Grey, the man set free from all restraint, would probably be a pure satyr like the sex-partying Dominique Strauss-Kahn or the billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, with his private-jet harems and the conviction for soliciting a 14-year-old. But in the fantasy, the synthesis, he’s a guy who will first dominate you but ultimately love you — providing that, like Anastasia Steele, you’re careful to sign a rigorously detailed contract detailing just how much domination you’ll accept.
And the sophisticated complaints against the books are equally illuminating. The problem isn’t that there’s anything wrong with pornography or sadism — don’t be silly! No, it’s just that the sadism isn’t quite safe enough (because the heroine doesn’t have a real BDSM adept’s skill at setting ground rules), that Mr. Grey’s kinks are judged a little too harshly (they’re rooted in childhood trauma, which is unfair to the dungeon set), and the romance is too old-fashioned and “straight” and not quite empowering enough.
These are not real critiques; they’re ideological line-edits. And their thinness pays tribute to what E.L. James has achieved: A fantasy that even many of its critics want to believe in, and the utopia that our society deserves.

5.

6. Johnny Cash beats Keats.

7. From Brookings: 8 facts on love, marriage, and childbearing in America

8. An economic case for marriage.

9. The New York Times Book Review gives our Rick Brookhiser’s new book some love.

10. Oh jeepers, there’s a Catholic University (we both went there) Brian Williams story problem, too – about when he “met” John Paul II.

11. Lester Holt on religion and journalism.

12. Meet the first model with Down syndrome to walk the runway at Fashion Week

And a Catholic list.