By the Sword: Saudi Arabia yesterday carried out its biggest mass execution in decades, putting to death 47 al Qaeda militants and critics of the government. One of those executed was Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, an outspoken campaigner for Shiite rights, whose death could aggravate sectarian tensions in Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East.

The New Year’s Day executions give Saudi Arabia a jumpstart on what could be another record year for executions. Last year the Saudis executed 157 people. Normally the Saudis carry out executions by beheading in a public square, but yesterday’s were done inside prisons.

Nation: Hillary Clinton’s prediction about Donald Trump seems to have come true. Al Qaeda in Somalia has released a recruiting video featuring the Republican presidential candidate’s proposal to bar all foreign Muslims from entering the US.

In the last democratic debate Clinton said Trump’s words were being used in militant videos, which at the time was not true.

The video cites racial discrimination, police shootings, and anti-Muslim sentiment to encourage American minorities to convert to Islam and fight.

The video also uses quotes from Anwar al-Awlaki, the American terrorist killed in a drone attack, saying, “The West will eventually turn against its Muslim citizens.”

Triggerman: President Obama is expected to meet Monday with Attorney General Loretta Lynch to talk about making an end-run around Congress and taking executive action on gun violence.

Obama said in his weekly radio address yesterday that, “Congress still hasn’t done anything” and he’s looking to take executive action “Because I get too many letters from parents, and teachers, and kids, to sit around and do nothing,”

The Obit Page: Natalie Cole, the Grammy-winning singer who followed her father Nat King Cole into music, has died in Los Angeles at age 65. Her family said the cause was continuing health issues. Cole had fought off drug addiction in her 30s and had a kidney transplant in 2009.

Cole had albums that sold a million copies in the 70, 80s, and 90s. One of her Grammys was a duet of the song “Unforgettable” she tracked with a 1951 recording of the same song by her late father, who died in 1965.

>Former Ohio Rep. Michael Oxley, the co-author of the anti-fraud Sarbanes-Oxley Act, passed in response to the Enron and WorldCom corporate scandals, has died of lung cancer at age 71. Oxley, a Republican, spent 25 years in the house.

The Bowl Beat: Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, caught a pass and scored a touchdown on the first play in the Rose Bowl against Iowa. Running, receiving, and returning kicks, McCaffrey totaled a stunning 368 yards for the day in Stanford’s 36-16 butt kicking of Iowa. McCaffrey has a sharp eye for a hole in the defense and is a nimble runner who can turn on a dime.

The Energy Beat: A headline on the NPR website about an alternative energy source reads, “From Poop To Power: Colorado Explores New Sources Of Renewable Energy,” and that pretty much tells the story.

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