Almost any program that is installed on your computer as a 'standalone' ought to work just as it used to...until advances in basic technology makes it weak. (I still use Eudora for email, and it works fine)

Outlook Express may be integrated in such a way that MS can control what works with it, or whether OTHER 'services' such as Hotmail will work with it. (I have not used OE for 10 years, and quit using Hotmail about 9 years ago!)). It 'should' work with newsgroups, as that's not their basic concern.

I would, however, consider getting out of the MSN/Microsoft/Hotmail/OE/Outlook cycle of problems and switch to mail and newsgroup programs that are free & not subject to these hassles.

Pegasus Mail is as powerful and full of features as any program around...though it takes a bit of setup and a learning curve.

Foxmail has been around for years, and is easier to use, though not as fancy as Pegasus.

...and, as mentioned, Thunderbird is also quite nice.

...and,if you wan't to explore, here is a list of most of the email clients available

For newsgroups, MesNews or 40tude Dialog.....(but better yet PAY for Agent!)