'The president's decline is alarming': Biden trapped in coronavirus malaise  —  ATLANTA — In a focus group last week, Pennsylvania Democrats one after another articulated the issue vexing top White House aides, party operatives in Virginia and voters in Georgia: Why isn't President Joe Biden's diminished job rating rebounding?

White Tiger and Cheetah Furs: A Mess of Trump Gift Exchanges  —  Gift exchanges between U.S. and foreign leaders, a highly regulated process, devolved into sometimes risible shambles during the Trump administration.  —  The Saudi royal family showered Donald J. Trump and his entourage …

Biggest U.S. Retailers Charter Private Cargo Ships to Sail Around Port Delays  —  Home Depot, Costco and Walmart resort to private charters in push to stock shelves for holiday shoppers  —  Global supply-chain delays are so severe that some of the biggest U.S. retailers have resorted to an extreme …

Two Journalists Started an Argument in Boston in 1979.  It's Not Over Yet.  —  A writer for an alt-weekly called out a Boston Globe editor for his “fealty” to the idea of objectivity in a column that reads as if it was written yesterday.  —  In 1979, two journalists got into an argument.

Corey Lewandowski in Exile: Banned at Trump Properties  —  Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is no longer allowed on Trump properties or at Trump parties after a high-profile donor accused him of sexual misconduct.  —  After a GOP donor accused Corey Lewandowski of sexual misconduct late …

Afghan Interpreter Who Helped Rescue Joe Biden in 2008 Escapes Afghanistan  —  After a personal plea to the U.S. president, weeks in hiding and a clandestine evacuation, Aman Khalili gets out with his family  —  An Afghan interpreter who helped rescue then- Sen. Joe Biden in 2008 …

Dems thought giving voters cash was the key to success.  So what happened?  —  The benefits were handed out.  But they don't seem to be translating politically.  In some cases, voters don't even credit Biden for them.  —  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks during a news conference …

Celebrate Columbus's Achievements  —  We should acknowledge his flaws, but his treatment by the left is reminiscent of communist propaganda.  —  Friends, Americans, citizens of the world, lend me your ears.  I come to bury Christopher Columbus, not to praise him.

Eric Clapton Isn't Just Spouting Vaccine Nonsense—He's Bankrolling It  —  Eric Clapton went from setting the standard for rock guitar to making ‘full-tilt’ racist rants to becoming an outspoken vaccine skeptic.  Did he change?  Or was he always like this?  —  Cambel McLaughlin thought he was being punked.

VA Dems Want Last Minute Voting Rule Change  —  Virginia's gubernatorial contest between Republican Glenn Youngkin and Democrat Terry McAuliffe clearly has supporters of the latter worried.  Recent polls show a far tighter race than they expected.  Consequently, it was all but inevitable …

There Is Shadow Inflation Taking Place All Around Us  —  Some companies haven't been raising prices.  Instead, they've been cutting back customer services and conveniences, but how should that be measured?  —  Inflation has surged in 2021, with various official measurements of consumer prices rising faster than they have in years.

Lego commits to removing ‘gender bias and harmful stereotypes’ from its toys  —  Lego on Monday vowed to rid its toys of “gender bias and harmful stereotypes” in a push to make them more accessible to girls.  —  The world's largest toymaker has already stopped labeling its products as …

Steven Mnuchin Stepped In to Prevent Ivanka Trump World Bank Appointment … In January 2019, Jim Yong Kim threw the global financial development sector into a state of disarray: The former academic and health official announced he would be stepping down the following month from his role …

AG Merrick Garland is at war with American families  —  Only a fool pokes a mama bear, but that's Merrick Garland for you.  —  The attorney general thought to be such a moderate that 20 Republicans confirmed his nomination turns out to be a radical ideologue hellbent on targeting President Biden's political foes.

'It's Not Sustainable': What America's Port Crisis Looks Like Up Close  —  An enduring traffic jam at the Port of Savannah reveals why the chaos in global shipping is likely to persist.  —  SAVANNAH, Ga. — Like toy blocks hurled from the heavens, nearly 80,000 shipping containers are stacked …

Iraq announces arrest of top ISIS financial figure in operation abroad  —  BAGHDAD — Iraq's prime minister said Monday that security forces had detained a senior member of the Islamic State who was once among the most important players in the group's financing efforts.

Inside Rikers: Dysfunction, Lawlessness and Detainees in Control  —  With a staffing emergency disrupting the basic functions of the jail system, detainees have had free rein inside.  —  When a detainee decided to hijack a bus inside the Rikers Island jail complex, little was in place to stop him.

Elect Democrats in 2022, Write Miles Taylor and Christine Todd Whitman  —  Mr. Taylor served at the Department of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019, including as chief of staff, and was the anonymous author of a 2018 guest essay for The Times criticizing President Donald Trump's leadership.

Why should Spain despise its greatest explorer?  —  Monuments to Christopher Columbus are regularly vandalized throughout the Americas, but Spain remains faithful to his memory.  Last week, I visited Seville Cathedral, where his supposed remains are carried shoulder-high by massive statues representing …

White House throws up its hands at new questions on Hunter Biden's ‘art’ scam  —  “I'd refer to the gallerist for questions,” huffed White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki last week in non-answer to reporters asking about Hunter Biden's star-studded Los Angeles art show.

‘It depends’: Chris Christie says there are times teachers should be ‘threatened’  —  Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) asserted on Sunday that there are times that public school teachers deserve to be the target of verbal threats.  —  During a panel discussion on ABC's This Week …

Bleak midterm outlook shadows bitter Democratic battle  —  The 2022 midterm elections — and the very real possibility that Democrats could be swept from their House majority — are hanging over the bitter political fight within the party over President Biden's domestic agenda.

Rep. Schiff reveals impeachment regrets, tensions on Capitol Hill after insurrection  —  Nine months after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., says the Capitol is a “different place.”  —  “I think the relationships that we had with our [GOP] …

Liberal Democrats have become the mainstream of the party and less willing to compromise with dwindling moderates  —  Moments after President Biden instructed House Democrats to make concessions or risk derailing passage of his economic agenda, members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus hastily gathered …

Herschel Walker off to $3.7M fundraising start in 2022 Senate race  —  Republican Herschel Walker has raised $3.7 million since launching his campaign for U.S. Senate about five weeks ago, as GOP donors came off the sidelines to support the former Georgia football star.Walker's campaign …

The Biden-Harris train wreck may have its savior: 2024 GOP nominee Donald Trump  —  Former President Trump recently declared he would beat Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a potential Republican primary match-up for the party's 2024 presidential nomination.  And based on current polling, he's almost certainly right.

After the Taliban seized their school, Afghanistan's all-female orchestra tried to flee.  Only some escaped.  —  KABUL — The girls came from homes broken by war and poverty to chase an unimaginable future as musicians.  And with grit and determination they succeeded: Some played at Carnegie Hall.

The Far-Right John Birch Society Wants Anti-Mask Protests to Fuel Its Comeback  —  The John Birch Society used to boost segregation.  Now it's back to attack schools over mask mandates.  —  On a sunny Saturday in a Knoxville, Tennessee park, a man with a microphone told a crowd of parents to bar entry to their children's schools.

Merck asks FDA to authorize promising anti-COVID pill  —  If cleared by the Food and Drug Administration — a decision that could come in a matter of weeks — it would be the first pill shown to treat COVID-19.  All other FDA-backed treatments against the disease require an IV or injection.