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 …

Diversion of Ryanair Flight to Belarus and Arrest of Journalist  —  The United States strongly condemns the forced diversion of a flight between two EU member states and the subsequent removal and arrest of journalist Raman Pratasevich in Minsk.  We demand his immediate release.

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.”

It's the Media's ‘Mean-Too’ Moment.  Stop Yelling and Go to Human Resources.  —  In public radio, there is either an epidemic of bullying or an epidemic of whining, depending on whom you ask.  —  For 20 years, the WNYC radio show “On The Media” has been the sort of place where the hosts …

Senators reach bipartisan agreement on $300 billion for highways, roads and bridges  — The legislation, released by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, would increase funding by 34% to a baseline of about $300 billion over five years.  — House Republicans last week introduced …

Rand Paul says he won't get a Covid vaccine  —  Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Sunday he is not getting vaccinated because he already had Covid-19.  —  Speaking with a conservative radio host on WABC radio, Paul, an Ophthalmologist, said he won't change his mind unless he sees evidence that people …

A Year After George Floyd: Pressure to Add Police Amid Rising Crime  —  Los Angeles, like other cities across the nation, is facing a rise in gun violence.  And the police budget is growing.  —  LOS ANGELES — Helen Jones grew up in Watts in a time of gang wars and a crack epidemic …

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.

Nellie Gorbea announces run for RI governor  —  You have been added to Nesi's Notes Newsletter  —  Nesi's Notes  —  PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea announced Sunday night she is running for Rhode Island governor in 2022, kicking off what's expected …

Hail Kevin McCarthy, People Pleaser and Trump Appeaser  —  Ms. Cottle is a member of the editorial board.  —  Representative Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, is frequently derided as a weak, hollow, craven, opportunistic, transactional, nakedly ambitious political animal with no core principles.

I was the fastest girl in Connecticut.  But transgender athletes made it an unfair fight.  —  When I was forced to race male bodies on the track, colleges didn't see the fastest female in Connecticut.  They saw a second- or third-place runner.  —  It's February 2020.

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.

‘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 …

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 …

Lawmakers worry the toxic atmosphere on Capitol Hill will follow them home, raising safety concerns  —  As House members head out of Washington for three weeks, anger at each other is turning into fear of what could await them back home.  —  Tensions among lawmakers have been running high since …

How Joe Biden Can Win a Nobel Peace Prize  —  Leon Trotsky once supposedly observed, “You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.”  To President Biden I'd say today, “You may not be interested in Middle East peacemaking, but Middle East peacemaking is interested in you.”

'Who's out protecting us?':  Spate of anti-Jewish attacks in the U.S. draws calls for more forceful response  —  A series of attacks on Jews in the United States in recent days, linked to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, has increased pressure on law enforcement officials …

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.”