Former Vice President Walter Mondale dies at 93  —  Walter Mondale, who transformed the role of U.S. vice president while serving under Jimmy Carter and was the Democratic nominee for president in 1984, died Monday at 93, according to a family spokesperson.  —  The big picture: President Biden …

'It's almost like insanity': GOP base continues to lash out over Trump's defeat  —  MARIETTA, Ga. — Nowhere has the post-Trump era been more painful for the Republican Party than in Georgia, where Trump loyalists' war on Republican elected officials is still raging, at great cost.

Satellite Images Show Russia's Expanding Ukraine Buildup  —  Combat aircraft, other military equipment seen in Crimea and along the Ukraine border as estimates of Kremlin forces grow  —  Russia has moved warplanes to Crimea and bases near Ukraine to an extent greater than has previously been disclosed …

Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who engaged rioters, suffered two strokes and died of natural causes, officials say  —  Capitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick suffered two strokes and died of natural causes a day after he confronted rioters at the Jan. 6 insurrection, the District's chief medical examiner has ruled.

Scoop: U.S. ambassador refuses Kremlin push to leave Russia  —  The United States ambassador to Russia is refusing to leave the country after the Kremlin “advised” him to return home following new Biden administration sanctions, two sources briefed on the situation tell Axios.

The Pandemic Will Be More Deadly This Year  —  Consider the surging case count in India.  A false sense of complacency is discouraging any course correction, and numbers could get worse still.  —  Covid-19 is going to kill more people in 2021 than it did last year.

India's devastating outbreak is driving the global coronavirus surge  —  Those on the country's front lines say the wave is worse than anything they have seen before.  —  NEW DELHI — More than a year after the pandemic began, infections worldwide have surpassed their previous peak.

Who Killed Adam Toledo?  —  How did a 13-year-old boy end up in an alley with a gun at 2:30 on a Monday morning?  —  Public safety  —  On March 29, just after 2:30 AM, Chicago's ShotSpotter alert system detected eight or nine gunshots in the West Side, largely Latino, neighborhood of Little Village …

Senior GRU Leader Directly Involved With Czech Arms Depot Explosion  — In 2018, Bellingcat and its investigative partner The Insider identified the two persons whom UK police charged with the Novichok poisoning of Sergey and Yulia Skripal as GRU officers Col. Alexander Mishkin and Col. Anatoly Chepiga.

DHS watchdog declined to pursue investigations into Secret Service during Trump administration, documents show  —  The chief federal watchdog for the Secret Service blocked investigations proposed by career staff last year to scrutinize the agency's handling of the George Floyd protests …

Georgia Faith Leaders to Urge Boycott of Home Depot Over Voting Law  —  Black religious leaders representing more than 1,000 churches in the state are planning a “warning shot” for other Republican-led states that are trying to limit voting access.  —  A major coalition of Black faith leaders in Georgia …

Disinfecting surfaces to prevent Covid often all for show, CDC advises  —  (CNN)The risk of surface transmission of Covid-19 is low, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday.  Far more important is airborne transmission — and people who obsessively disinfect surfaces may be doing more harm than good..

Howard University's removal of classics is a spiritual catastrophe  —  Cornel West is a professor of the practice of public philosophy at Harvard University and serves on the board of academic advisers of the Classic Learning Test.  Jeremy Tate is the founder and chief executive officer of the Classic Learning Test.

California Exit Interview: One couple's final straw came when voters rejected Prop.  15  —  Alison Grady and Ernest Brown made a spreadsheet of places they wanted to live a few years ago, and Oakland came out on top.  Within a day of moving to The Town, Brown found a salsa dance class near Lake Merritt …

The Washington Football Team won't find a better name than it already has  —  The Washington — get this — Rubies?  The Washington Demon Cats?  Yeah, there's a legend about some creature that haunts federal government buildings here.  Still.  —  The Washington Red Hogs?

There are hundreds of posts about plans to attack the Capitol.  Why hasn't this evidence been used in court? … WASHINGTON — FBI officials have repeatedly said they gathered no credible intelligence in the weeks leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection suggesting that pro-Trump extremists intended to storm the U.S. Capitol.

It's not ‘woketivism,’ it's good business  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) should put away his worry beads about big business.  Corporate leaders haven't gone soft on liberalism.  Instead, Republicans have gone “wobbly” on democracy and that's not good for business.

There's a Name for the Blah You're Feeling: It's Called Languishing  —  It's the neglected middle child of mental health, and can dull your motivation and focus.  It may be the dominant emotion of 2021.  —  At first, I didn't recognize the symptoms that we all had in common.

Axios-Ipsos poll: Americans say J&J pause was the right call  —  Most Americans support the pause in distribution of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, and so far there's no evidence that it's leading to broader vaccine hesitancy, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.

Minneapolis Felon Charged With Illegal Possession Of A Firearm  —  Acting United States Attorney W. Anders Folk today announced a federal criminal complaint charging ANDREW THOMAS, 28, with being a felon in possession of a firearm.  THOMAS will make his initial appearance tomorrow …

Elizabeth Warren invites billionaire critic Leon Cooperman to testify at Senate hearing on taxes  — Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants one of her biggest critics to face lawmakers in a hearing next week.  — Warren, a progressive Democrat from Massachusetts, is inviting billionaire investor Leon Cooperman …

BREAKING: JAMES O'KEEFE SUES TWITTER in New York Supreme Court for ‘FALSE AND DEFAMATORY’ Statements Following Ban From Platform ... Intends to Prove Twitter Acted With ‘RECKLESS DISREGARD’ For the Truth  — James O'Keefe made good on his promise to fight back and “go on offense” …

Policy group hires Mark Halperin years after sexual harassment scandal  —  Political journalist Mark Halperin, whose career crumbled in 2017 after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment, has joined No Labels, a D.C.-based bipartisan policy group, Punchbowl News reports.

No-prescription, rapid COVID-19 home tests to be sold at CVS, Walgreens and Walmart beginning this week  —  Consumers will be able to buy rapid coronavirus tests without a prescription this week at three national chain retailers, an expansion that comes as the nation's vaccination effort accelerates …

GOP eyes new strategy to derail Biden infrastructure plan  —  Republicans say President Biden's $2.3 trillion infrastructure package will have a tough time getting through the Senate intact because of several key provisions that will open the legislation up to parliamentary challenges under the arcane Byrd Rule.