Meet Kevin McCarthy, political hollow man  —  Opinion by  —  I hereby nominate House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for the James Buchanan prize, awarded for monumental smallness in a time demanding leadership.  The 15th president, you might recall, was a politician who tried …

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for Emergency Use in Adolescents in Another Important Action in Fight Against Pandemic  —  For Immediate Release:  —  Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the emergency use authorization (EUA) …

Kathryn Garcia for Mayor  —  The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values.  It is separate from the newsroom.  —  The mix of optimism and anxiety that New Yorkers feel as the coronavirus is beaten …

The Texas Republican Asking His Party To Just Stop  —  Will Hurd is the kind of politician who loves to find the middle ground.  He spent six years as a Republican congressman from one of the most competitive districts in the country, a sprawling expanse that traces the southwest border of Texas along the Rio Grande.

AP-NORC poll: Biden approval buoyed by his pandemic response  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is plunging into the next phase of his administration with the steady approval of a majority of Americans, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Leonardo DiCaprio unrecognizable in first photos of new Scorsese film  —  Apple has released the first-ever photos from Martin Scorsese's highly anticipated Western, “Killers of the Flower Moon.”  —  The pics depict Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone as Ernest and Mollie Burkhart …

U.S. military ship fires 30 warning shots after encounter with Iranian vessels  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. Coast Guard ship fired about 30 warning shots after 13 vessels from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) came close to it and other American Navy vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the Pentagon said on Monday.

Russian spy unit suspected of directed-energy attacks on U.S. personnel  —  U.S. officials suspect that a notorious Russian spy agency may be behind alleged attacks that are causing mysterious health issues among U.S. government personnel across the world, according to three current …

Violence Shakes Israel, With Rocket Fire and Police Battling Palestinians  —  Gaza officials say nine people were killed.  The exchange followed clashes between the Israeli police and Palestinian protesters at Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem after a week of increasing tensions.

DOJ Pick Susan Hennessey's Long, Sordid History of Partisan Conspiracy-Mongering  —  Susan Hennessey, the Biden administration's pick to serve as senior counsel for the National Security Division at the Justice Department, made a name for herself during the Trump years by pushing …

Where in the World is Q?  Clues from Image Metadata  —  The hunt to identify the person or group behind the QAnon conspiracy theory continues.  Known only as “Q,” this individual or collective is responsible for the many posts, or “drops,” that appeared on internet imageboards between October 2017 and December 2020.

Pollard: Israel should expel US diplomats  —  Israel should leave the UN, which is “Knesset of hate,” he tells Merkaz Harav yeshiva  —  If the United States returns its consulate in Jerusalem to represent America to the Palestinian Authority, Israel should expel all US diplomats working there …

Reporters fume at White House ‘quote approval’ rules  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. … Email us at [email protected].  —  If you've read a quote from an administration official in a newspaper or a wire story recently …

J. Lo and Ben Affleck were spotted together in Montana, which is set to gain a new House seat in redistricting  — Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, engaged in the early 2000s, were spotted together in Montana.  — Montana is gaining a seat in Congress after the 2020 census due to its population growth.

HHS Announces Prohibition on Sex Discrimination Includes Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity  —  HHS Office for Civil Rights to Enforce Prohibitions on Sex Discrimination in Line with Supreme Court Decision  —  Washington D.C. - Today …

‘We May Not Have a Full Two Years’: Democrats' Plans Hinge on Good Health  —  In a narrowly divided Congress, an illness or a death could upend the balance of power and threaten an ambitious agenda.  —  On March 21, 1950, an Illinois congressman named Ralph Church suddenly slumped in his seat while testifying before a House committee.

CAN WE PLEASE DITCH THE TERM “SYSTEMIC RACISM”?  —  As a linguist I know we can't, but systemic racial inequities can almost never be undone by “getting rid of the racism.”  —  3 hr ago  —  The Elect are direly committed to teaching us the difference between personal racism and systemic racism.

Colorado Springs mass shooting leaves 7 dead, including suspect, at birthday party: police  — Olivia Prentzel, Erin Prater & Breeanna Jent The Gazette  —  A gunman killed six members of an extended family Sunday at a birthday party at a mobile home in Colorado Springs before turning the gun on himself …

Paris Teenager's New Gig: Would-Be Queen of Italy.  A Nation Shrugs.  —  The son of Italy's last king has tapped his teen granddaughter to eventually lead the House of Savoy, pretenders to Italy's defunct throne.  “Totally illegitimate,” says a rival clan.

China increases spending 500% to influence America  —  New foreign-agent filings are finally detailing a massive Beijing propaganda operation that's fueled a sixfold increase in Chinese foreign influence efforts in the United States in recent years.  —  Why it matters: Propaganda is central …

California has a staggering $75.7B budget surplus  —  SACRAMENTO — California expects a staggering $75.7 billion surplus despite a year of pandemic closures — an amount that surpasses most states' annual spending and prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday to propose sending cash back to residents as he faces a recall election.

After Black driver is handcuffed and arrested, Va. prosecutor says she never should have been pulled over  —  Virginia State Police trooper spotted car with taillights out, later pulled driver out of car and attempted DWI arrest, but driver tested 0.0 blood-alcohol content