Belarus arrests dissident after forcing Ryanair flight to land  —  Order by President Lukashenko to divert plane to Minsk prompts outrage in Europe  —  European leaders have called for an immediate international response after Belarus forced a Ryanair flight bound for Lithuania to land …

Collins expresses support for Jan. 6 commission, with conditions  —  Sen. Susan Collins on Sunday said she supported the establishment of an independent commission to probe the Jan. 6 insurrection and expressed optimism that Democrats' House-passed bill to do so could make it through the Senate with some modifications.

Rand Paul: 'I'm not getting vaccinated'  —  Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Sunday that he will not be getting vaccinated against COVID-19.  —  During an interview with John Catsimatidis on his radio show on WABC 770 AM, Paul, an ophthalmologist, said he he's making the personal decision because he's already had COVID-19.

Influential GOP pollster Frank Luntz's research is a ‘total schtick and scam’ that relies on manipulated focus groups, former employees say  — Luntz is an influential pollster who helps shape Republican talking points  — Former Luntz employee Chris Ingram criticized his old boss in an interview

Trump's GOP is a Party of Snowflakes and Beta Males  —  MAKE AMERICA SOFT AGAIN … The party's patient careerists believe that swallowing their pride and sublimating their anger, opinions and even familial loyalties is the way to win the long game.  It's pathetic.

George Will: “I'd Like To See January 6 Burned Into The American Mind As Firmly As 9/11”  —  George Will said on ABC's “This Week” roundtable that the Capitol riot on January 6 deserves to be “burned into the American mind as firmly as 9/11, because it was that scale of a shock to the system.”

Ex-Trump ambassador says former President ‘absolutely’ bears responsibility for January 6 riot  —  Washington (CNN)A former Republican senator and member of Donald Trump's administration said Sunday that he thinks the ex-President bears some responsibility for the Capitol insurrection …

Columbia Prep students and parents reel after class on ‘porn literacy’  —  Parents at the posh Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School are outraged they were never told of a fourth “R” being added to the curriculum: raunch.  —  In addition to the usual reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic …

Former Defense secretary: No Republican president I worked for would recognize GOP today  —  Robert Gates, the former Defense secretary under both the Bush and Obama administrations, said in an interview aired on Sunday that of the five Republican U.S. presidents he worked for …

Trump aide ordered to pay $42K over lawsuit about slipping abortion pill to pregnant stripper: report  —  Senior Donald Trump advisor Jason Miller has been ordered to pay Gizmodo Media Group $41,868.23 following a failed defamation lawsuit.  —  Miller had sued Gizmodo over a 2018 story by Splinter News …

Polling places for urban voters of color would be cut under Texas Senate's version of voting bill being negotiated with House  —  Voters in some urban, Democratic areas of Harris and Tarrant counties would see a drastic drop in polling places under the Senate version of Senate Bill 7, a Texas Tribune analysis shows.

Fauci ‘not convinced’ COVID-19 developed naturally  —  Fauci's recent remarks show an evolution in the doctor's beliefs on coronavirus origins over the past year  —  Fox News Flash top headlines for May 22  —  Dr. Anthony Fauci says he is “not convinced” COVID-19 developed naturally …

Republicans struggle to define a new governing coalition as Trump closes grip on party  —  WATERFORD, Mich. — The Republican Party's metamorphosis starkly showed this week in the faceoff between a parade float championing Donald Trump and “Mr. Perks,” an 18-foot pink pig on wheels emblazoned with the words “End Washington Waste.”

Long Slide Looms for World Population, With Sweeping Ramifications  —  Fewer babies' cries.  More abandoned homes.  Toward the middle of this century, as deaths start to exceed births, changes will come that are hard to fathom.  —  All over the world, countries are confronting population stagnation …

‘I Said Nothing Wrong’: Marjorie Taylor Greene Doubles Down on Comparing Pelosi to Nazis, Says ‘Rational’ Jewish People Should Also Oppose ‘Overbearing Mask Mandates’  —  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) doubled down on her controversial comments comparing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) …

Dick Van Dyke says Biden got down on one knee for Oval Office visit: ‘Now I expect that from everyone!’  —  Dick Van Dyke says he received a welcome fit for a comedy king during his visit with President Biden in the Oval Office, with the commander in chief getting down on one knee to show his gratitude to the actor.

The mob made me do it: Rioters claim Jan. 6 crowd at fault  —  Christopher Grider said he came to Washington on Jan. 6 with no intention of rioting.  But he got caught up in the mob of angry supporters of then-President Donald Trump as they surged into the U.S. Capitol, breaking through police barriers and smashing through doors.

Biden's COVID aid: Is it ‘preference’ or ‘prejudice’?  —  President Biden has spoken out often, eloquently and passionately against the “ugly poison” of discrimination and racism in our government.  So a ruling by a federal district court in Texas this week was particularly jarring …

When Congress wastes money, let red states use it to pay down the national debt  —  Democrats, when they control Congress, like to lay a peculiar spending trap.  —  First, they propose unnecessary federal spending — some pipe-dream boondoggle or something redundant with existing federal, state, or private-sector spending.

C.D.C. Is Investigating a Heart Problem in a Few Young Vaccine Recipients  —  The agency is reviewing several dozen reports that teenagers and young adults may have developed myocarditis after vaccination, officials said.  But the agency has not determined whether the vaccine caused the condition.

Blast at Iranian drone factory days after Israel's Hamas accusation  —  Iran has provided no information about cause of explosion in Isfahan that injured at least nine workers  —  A factory that makes Iranian drones has suffered a major explosion days after Israel had claimed that Iran was providing drones to Hamas in Gaza.

Biden protects thousands of Haitians from deportation with new TPS measure  —  The Biden administration is granting a new 18-month designation of Temporary Protected Status to Haiti, a significant move that alleviates the threat of deportation for thousands of Haitians and recognizes …