Justice Department, FBI debate not charging some of the Capitol rioters  —  Federal law enforcement officials are privately debating whether they should decline to charge some of the individuals who stormed the U.S. Capitol this month — a politically loaded proposition but one alert …

‘Not afraid’: Protesters across Russia defy Putin in marches for jailed opposition leader Navalny  —  MOSCOW — Protesters took to the streets Saturday in nearly 70 cities and towns across Russia calling for the release of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny — a massive show of defiance …

Why McConnell Dumped Trump  —  After the Capitol assault—and after losing his perch as Majority Leader—the senator finally denounced the outgoing President.  Was it a moral reckoning or yet another act of political self-interest?  —  On the afternoon of January 6th …

Capitol rioter charged with threatening to ‘assassinate’ Rep. Ocasio-Cortez  —  (CNN)The Justice Department revealed new charges against a Texas man who allegedly participated in the Capitol attack and posted online death threats against Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a US Capitol Police officer.

Republicans Have Decided Not to Rethink Anything  —  For a few days, the Republican party appeared to be undergoing a crisis of confidence, if not an outright crack-up.  First, Donald Trump lost an election, then tried to negate the outcome throughout a series of threats and increasingly absurd lawsuits …

Kevin McCarthy: ‘Everybody Across This Country’ Is To Blame For Capitol Attack  —  Donald Trump is responsible for the Jan. 6 riot, but so are you, according to the House Republican leader.  —  House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) attracted attention last week when he said in a floor speech …

Imperiling quick $1,400 checks, moderate Republicans push back on Biden's economic plan  —  WASHINGTON — Key moderate Republicans in the Senate dismissed quick action on President Joe Biden's top priority of a $1.9 trillion economic package, indicating that the $1,400 stimulus payments he requested could take months, or never arrive.

Inside the Deadly Capitol Shooting  —  With a mob approaching, a police lieutenant fatally shot a woman trying to vault through a window near the House Chamber.  —  WASHINGTON — During the four-and-a-half-hour attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, one of the moments when the mob came closest …

Rolling Stone seeks ‘thought leaders’ willing to pay $2,000 to write for them  —  Emails from ‘best-known entertainment media outlet’ invite ‘Culture Council’ to pay for chance to publish on website  —  Rolling Stone magazine is offering “thought leaders” the chance to write for its website …

Former president, private citizen and, perhaps, criminal defendant: … The question came out of the blue and has haunted me ever since.  It was Jan. 17, 2017, three days before Donald Trump's swearing-in, and my wife and I sat with him in the near-empty main cabin aboard …

Macron says France will tighten legislation on incest  —  PARIS (Reuters) - France will tighten its laws on incest, President Emmanuel Macron said in a series of tweets on Saturday, after publication of a book accusing a top French political commentator of abusing his stepson sparked outrage across the country.

Sen. Tom Cotton campaigned on his “experience as an Army Ranger” — but he didn't have any  —  Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas has accrued a resume tailor-made for a Republican politician: He leapt from a small-town Arkansas cattle farm to Harvard University and then Harvard Law School …

An old arrest can follow you forever online.  Some newspapers want to fix that.  —  The Boston Globe has joined a handful of newsrooms around the country doing something once unthinkable: changing old articles because they are ruining a person's life.  —  The newspaper on Friday launched …

Kenosha killing suspect Kyle Rittenhouse's bond terms changed after bar visit … A Wisconsin judge has modified the release conditions for Kyle Rittenhouse, the teen charged with killing two men amid protests in Kenosha last year, after prosecutors alleged he drank beers and was “serenaded” …

How Alvin the Beagle Helped Usher In a Democratic Senate  —  Senator Raphael Warnock was sworn in this week as Georgia's first Black senator, and he arrived with a canny canine assist.  —  The dog had a lot of work to do.  —  He was co-starring in a political ad that had to showcase the candidate's good-natured warmth.

A Trump Holdout in Atlanta  —  L. Lin Wood, a Georgia defamation attorney who cried when Nixon resigned, still believes that the former President won the election, and he wants Mike Pence to be charged with treason.  —  Two weeks before Joe Biden's Inauguration, L. Lin Wood answered his telephone.

Chicago bars, restaurants officially cleared to reopen for limited indoor service Saturday  —  A day after officials said both regions were “on track” for limited reopening, the city and Cook County suburbs saw their coronavirus infection rates improve for a third straight day to officially move …

Staten Island bar owner who flouted COVID restrictions indicted for illegal liquor sales, escapes assault charges for hitting deputy with his Jeep  —  The owner of a popular Staten Island bar that flouted COVID-19 restrictions — and became a flashpoint for anti-lockdown demonstrations …

U.S. largely weathered Christmas coronavirus surge, but experts warn the threat could intensify  —  Hospitalizations and cases are stabilizing, but at ‘dangerously hot’ levels  —  The United States appears to have avoided the worst-case coronavirus scenarios that officials feared …

Controversial El Monte church damaged by homemade bomb; FBI investigating  —  The FBI and local authorities are investigating the explosion of a homemade bomb at an El Monte church that had drawn protests due to its anti-LGBTQ teachings.  —  The attack took place early Saturday …

Universities face pressure to vet ex-Trump officials before hiring them  —  There is a long tradition of political appointees moving into academia — former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice returned to Stanford University as a professor, ex-CIA director Robert Gates was a dean and then president …