Ryanair flight carrying wanted Belarus journalist forced to land in Minsk  —  MOSCOW — Belarusian authorities ordered a Ryanair flight that took off in Athens to land in their capital of Minsk over a bomb threat, which the opposition is calling just a pretext to arrest an activist on board.

Intelligence on Sick Staff at Wuhan Lab Fuels Debate On Covid-19 Origin  —  Report says researchers went to hospital in November 2019, shortly before confirmed outbreak; Adds to calls for probe of whether virus escaped lab  —  WASHINGTON—Three researchers from China's Wuhan Institute …

Dismissed in 2012, this diagnosis of GOP ills has now become undeniable  —  (CNN)The essay described congressional extremists, their rejection of truth, a party turning into authoritarians or “an apocalyptic cult.”  It bore a striking headline:  —  “Let's just say it: The Republicans are the problem.”

NYPD investigates more anti-Semitic attacks after Jewish teens beaten, synagogue worshippers harassed  —  Hate Crimes Division is looking into attacks after recent Israel-Palestinian conflict  —  Fox News Flash top headlines for May 23  —  NYPD's Hate Crimes Division said Saturday it's investigating …

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.

Former Police Officer Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Civil Rights Violation  —  A former officer with the St. Paul Police Department in St. Paul, Minnesota, was sentenced today to six years in prison after a jury found him guilty of a civil rights violation.

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.

Police records show threats to kill lawmakers in wake of Capitol attack  —  Leaked files show how police stepped up surveillance efforts after January insurrections for signs of violence from far-right groups  —  Washington's Metropolitan police department recorded threats to lawmakers …

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.

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.”

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.

A Liberal Zionist's Move to the Left on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict  —  Peter Beinart, once a staunch defender of Israel, is arguing for the Palestinians' right to return.  —  In the fights over the future of Israel and Palestine, in which enmities are often understood to be both ancient and eternal …

Biden adviser: President will ‘change course’ in infrastructure talks if inaction seems inevitable  —  Washington (CNN)White House senior adviser Cedric Richmond said Sunday that President Joe Biden will “change course” on his massive infrastructure bill if inaction on the costly proposal seems inevitable.

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 …

Have Trump Republicans lost their grip on reality, or are they just lying to pollsters?  —  Following the 9/11 attacks, the main question on all Americans' minds was who was responsible.  Once it was determined to be al-Qaeda, the second question that demanded an answer was how U.S. intelligence agencies …

Can America Be America When Jews Are Beaten in the Streets?  —  George Washington's promise to American Jews helped define this nation.  Breaking that promise would define us again.  —  7 hr ago  —  It happened again.  As war raged between Hamas and Israel over there in the Middle East …

QAnon is spreading amongst evangelicals.  These pastors are trying to stop it  —  When Pastor James Kendall stepped on to the stage of his small church in Madera, California he knew that day's sermon was going to take him in a direction unlike most.  He had seen some troubling Facebook posts from members of his congregation.