Biden White House Sandbags Staffers, Sidelines Dozens for Pot Use  —  In some cases, staffers were informally told by transition officials some past marijuana use would be overlooked, only to be told later that they were being asked to resign. … Dozens of young White House staffers have been suspended …

U.S. to Send Millions of Vaccine Doses to Mexico and Canada  —  The announcement came at a time when the Biden administration has been quietly pressing Mexico to ramp up its efforts to limit the flow of migrants.  —  The United States plans to send millions of doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine …

Son of Atlanta Shooting Victim Calls ‘Bullshit’ on Sex Addiction Claim  —  Police have not ID'ed her, but 23-year-old Randy Park says his mother was killed—and he's not buying the suspect's line on why six Asian women are dead. … ATLANTA—Randy Park said he learned of his mother's murder …

Cuomo's First Accuser Raises New Claims of Harassment and Retaliation  —  In her first extensive interview, Lindsey Boylan sheds new light on a toxic workplace, as insiders detail the campaign to discredit her.  —  On the morning of December 13, 2020, Lindsey Boylan sat in the passenger seat …

Intel revelations raise difficult questions for several Republicans  —  The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) this week released a declassified intelligence community assessment on foreign threats to our 2020 elections, and the top-line takeaway was important …

Teen Vogue Editor Resigns After Fury Over Racist Tweets  —  The hiring of Alexi McCammond, who was supposed to start at the Condé Nast publication next week, drew complaints because of racist and homophobic tweets she had posted a decade ago.  —  Alexi McCammond, who made her name …

Meghan Markle Didn't Do the Work  —  Looks like Prince Harry married a girl just like the one who married dear old Dad.  We recognized all of it: the desperate unhappiness, the adoration of the masses, the beautiful clothes worn beautifully—but especially the easy and immediate way of reaching …

Biden to meet with Stacey Abrams on trip to Georgia  —  During his visit to Atlanta on Friday, President Joe Biden will meet with former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who has been widely credited with helping flip the former Republican stronghold blue.

Stephen Brown, editor in chief of POLITICO Europe, is dead at 57  —  Stephen Brown, the editor in chief of POLITICO Europe and a former news correspondent who reported widely from Europe and South America for Reuters for more than a quarter-century, died Thursday in Brussels.  He was 57.

Xiaojie Tan dreamed of traveling the world and celebrating her 50th birthday with her daughter.  Then the Atlanta shooter ended her life  —  Trevor Hughes Romina Ruiz-Goiriena Cara KellyUSA TODAY  —  ATLANTA — On her 50th birthday, Xiaojie Tan would have gathered with her only child …

Texas Wax Museum Removes Trump Figure Because People Keep Punching It  —  LOL.  I love Texas, everything about it.  Especially this.  Turns out Louis Tussaud's Waxworks on Alamo Plaza, located in San Antonio, decided to put away a wax figure of former President Donald Trump after visitors took out …

Armie Hammer Being Investigated by LAPD After Woman Comes Forward With Violent Rape Allegation … The anonymous woman who first posted allegations against Armie Hammer on social media has publicly come forward.  —  “I thought that he was going to kill me,” the woman, named Effie …

A Private Jet of Rich Trumpers Wanted to “Stop the Steal”—But They Don't Want You to Read This  —  These powerful Memphis figures reveal the rift in a segregated society.  —  At 12:11 p.m. on January 5, an eight-seat Bombardier Challenger 300 jet took off from Memphis International Airport.

Cuomo Administration Probed Over Nursing-Home Covid-19 Liability Immunity  —  Federal prosecutors are examining how the governor's office crafted broad protections for healthcare facilities treating Covid-19 patients  —  Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn are investigating a push …

Scoop: Biden has ambassadors list in hand  —  President Biden is reviewing a list of finalists as he prepares to nominate a series of ambassadors to key embassy postings, people familiar with the matter tell Axios.  —  Why it matters: The new president has promised to restore alliances …

12 Republicans vote against honoring Capitol police for protecting Congress  —  House voted 413-12 to award congressional gold medals to all members of Capitol force for their efforts on 6 January  —  A dozen Republicans voted against a resolution honoring US Capitol police for their efforts …

Beyond child detentions, other surging stats reflect grim reality of border crisis  —  Border Patrol agents are increasingly serving as rescuer, too.  —  Catch up on the developing stories making headlines.  —  U.S. Customs and Border Protection  —  Early last year, as Border Patrol agents …

Facebook Is Building An Instagram For Kids Under The Age Of 13  —  Executives at Instagram are planning to build a version of the popular photo-sharing app that can be used by children under the age of 13, according to an internal company post obtained by BuzzFeed News.

Russian National Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Introduce Malware into a U.S. Company's Computer Network  —  Defendant's attempt to recruit employee to transmit malware to exfiltrate data and extort company thwarted by FBI  —  A Russian national pleaded guilty in federal court today …

A Spectre in France's Public Debate: Islamo-Leftism  —  France is a country that has touted a long history of free thought and expression, but recent moves by the current administration are uncovering limits to speech that are not readily found in other Western countries.

Republicans are laying a ‘Trojan horse’ trap on infrastructure  —  Heads I win, tails you lose.  That is Republicans' ominous warning to Democrats working to design and (to their credit!) actually pay for an infrastructure bill.  —  “I think the Trojan horse will be called infrastructure …

QAnon Thinks Donald Trump's Vaccine Remarks Are Fake, Just a Very Good Imitation  —  QAnon followers are once again pulling in all directions as they struggle to explain why Donald Trump would urge people to get COVID-19 vaccinations, which are highly-detested among Q-conspiracists.

Beijing's crackdown in Xinjiang has separated thousands of children from their parents, new report claims.  CNN found two of them  —  Tune into Anderson Cooper 360 next week to watch the exclusive footage from CNN's trip inside Xinjiang.  —  Xinjiang, China (CNN)It was supposed …

Here's how the GOP can get its mojo back: Stand up to teacher unions  —  Republicans are in trouble.  The party is struggling with internal divisions and has suffered a hit in its approval ratings, according to a recent Pew poll.  —  Adding to their difficulties, the GOP uniformly opposed …

AP Interview: Newsom admits mistakes in 1st reopening  —  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom acknowledged mistakes in communicating with the public last year before the first loosening of coronavirus restrictions led to an early summer spike in cases, a harsh lesson …

Foreigners in their own country: Asian Americans at State Department confront discrimination  —  As the United States recoils over the murders of six Asian American women in Atlanta and a wave of violence against wider Asian American communities, there's another reckoning gathering momentum in Washington …

Dan Bongino says Biden is ‘boring’ and ‘a disaster for talk radio’ but that he'll do his best against him anyway  —  The letter F. An envelope.  It indicates the ability to send an email.  An image of a chain link.  It symobilizes a website link url.  A stylized bird with an open mouth, tweeting.

Putin challenges Biden to debate after president calls him a ‘killer’  —  Biden spoke out about the Russian president in an ABC News interview this week.  —  Putin fires back after Biden's interview with George Stephanopoulos … Sputnik via Reuters  —  Russian President Vladimir Putin …

50 tons of marble incised with the First Amendment is heading to Philadelphia  —  The Newseum, an interactive museum in Washington, D.C., devoted to journalism, is gone, succumbing to financial woes.  It closed at the end of 2019.But while the building on Pennsylvania Avenue has since been sold …

Here's the best use of Never Trumpers' energies  —  Some Never Trumpers — “God bless 'em,” as President Biden would say — think the Republican Party can still be reformed.  I dunno, but a party that acquits a president who incited an insurrectionist mob; that still wants that person to head …

McCarthy tries to rewrite history by claiming that he didn't back Trump's efforts to overturn the election  —  McCarthy claims he never backed Trump's effort to overturn election  —  (CNN)House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy tried to rewrite history on Thursday by claiming that he was not involved …

Poll: Most Texans support extra week of early voting, cool to GOP proposals to restrict voting  —  As state Republicans push to restrict voting, a new poll shows a majority of Texans want more time to vote early and do not approve of threatening voters or those who assist them with felony charges for violations.