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 …

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.

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.”

‘I would do it again’: Suspect accused of pummeling NYC Jewish man shows no remorse  —  The Brooklyn man accused of beating a Jewish man in a hate attack in Midtown proclaimed from his jail cell that he would “do it again,” prosecutors said on Saturday.  —  Waseem Awawdeh, 23 …

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.

CNN Drops Rick Santorum After Racist Comments About Native Americans  —  The former GOP senator lost his contract with the network after claiming there was “nothing” in America before white colonizers arrived.  —  CNN has terminated its contract with senior political commentator Rick Santorum after racist …

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.

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 …

Ex-officer who beat Black man while dog mauled him gets six years in prison  —  A federal court judge on Friday sentenced a former St. Paul, Minn., police officer to six years in prison after a jury found him guilty of a civil rights violation for beating an unarmed Black man who was mistaken for a suspect nearly five years ago.

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.”

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.

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

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.

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 …

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 …

Tom Cotton: “Fauci Is Playing Word Games” About Gain-of-Function Research In Wuhan  —  Senator Tom Cotton joined Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures” to discuss the possible origin of COVID-19 at a Wuhan virology lab.  —  “Dr. Fauci has been to Congress, and he said this absolutely did not happen.

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.