Trump told RNC chair he was leaving GOP to create new party, says new book  —  In his new book, Jonathan Karl shares what Trump said before backing down.  —  In an angry conversation on his final day as president, Donald Trump told the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee …

U.S. Covid Deaths Get Even Redder  —  The partisan gap in Covid's death toll has grown faster over the past month than at any previous point.  —  As 2020 wound down, there were good reasons to believe that the death toll during the pandemic's first year might have been worse in red America.

Notes on an Authoritarian Conspiracy: Inside the Claremont Institute's “79 Days to Inauguration” Report  —  The sun rises on January 6, 2021 while a nation is in crisis.  —  Michigan's presidential electors are in dispute after a mysterious fire in Detroit destroyed thousands of mail-in ballots …

Mitch McConnell spent decades chasing power.  Now he heeds Trump, who mocks him and wants him gone.  —  How one of Washington's longtime Republican power players succumbed to the preeminence of the 45th president  —  As President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 …

We Can't Wait for Universities to Fix Themselves.  So We're Starting a New One.  —  I left my post as president of St. John's College in Annapolis to build a university in Austin dedicated to the fearless pursuit of truth.  —  So much is broken in America.  But higher education might be the most fractured institution of all.

US seizes $6 million in ransom payments and expected to charge Ukrainian over major cyberattack  —  Here's everything you need to know about ransomware  —  (CNN)Law enforcement officials have seized an estimated $6 million in ransom payments, and the US Justice Department is expected …

Obama swipes at Trump for ‘four years of active hostility’ on climate in Glasgow speech  —  (CNN)Former President Barack Obama went to the international climate conference in Glasgow on Monday because climate envoy John Kerry knew the Biden administration needed help convincing the world America …

Trump will ‘probably’ announce 2024 plans after midterms: ‘A lot of people will be very happy’  —  Trump to Fox News: 'A lot of great people who are thinking about running are waiting for that decision, because they're not going to run if I run'  —  Trump teases press with 2024 hints

Republican wave builds to take back the House  —  Republicans could hardly be better poised to recapture the House majority.  —  Increasingly aggressive redistricting, a diverse slate of candidates raking in record-breaking amounts of cash and a political atmosphere that just keeps getting …

When Keeping It ‘Woke’ Gets Racist, Liberals Should Say So  —  A Republican won Virginia's governorship last week after campaigning on a vow to “ban critical race theory in our schools.”  —  On one level, this was an odd campaign promise.  Properly defined, critical race theory (or CRT) …

Satellite images show China built mock-ups of US warships  —  BEIJING (AP) — Satellite images show China has built mock-ups of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier and destroyer in its northwestern desert, possibly for practice for a future naval clash as tensions rise between the nations.

Countries' climate pledges built on flawed data, Post investigation finds  —  Malaysia's latest catalogue of its greenhouse gas emissions to the United Nations reads like a report from a parallel universe.  The 285-page document suggests that Malaysia's trees are absorbing carbon four times faster …

Big Bird got ‘vaccinated’ against COVID-19, drawing outrage from Republicans  —  Big Bird ruffled some conservatives' feathers this weekend by announcing that he had been vaccinated against COVID-19.  —  The beloved Muppet tweeted on Saturday that he had gotten the shot …

Ranking the most liberal and conservative law firms among the top 140, 2021 edition  —  One of my most popular posts remains “Ranking the most liberal and conservative law firms.”  That post is from 2013, and an update is long overdue.  —  At the outset, “ranking” a firm or calling it …

Biden is considering shutting down ANOTHER oil pipeline despite soaring energy prices: Republicans demand Michigan's Line 5 be kept open to avoid a further rise in energy bills this winter  — President Joe Biden's Administration is considering shutting down the Line 5 oil pipeline that links Superior …

CNN Poll: Majority of Americans say Biden isn't paying attention to nation's most important issues  —  (CNN)One year out from the 2022 midterm elections, 58% of Americans say President Joe Biden hasn't paid enough attention to the nation's most important problems, as a majority disapproves …

Elon Musk faces a $15 billion tax bill, which is likely the real reason he's selling stock  — Elon Musk faces a tax bill of more than $15 billion in the coming months on stock options.  — Musk asked his 62.7 million Twitter followers over the weekend whether he should sell 10% of his Tesla holdings.

Capitol rioter Evan Neumann applies for asylum in Belarus, local media says  —  MOSCOW — A man who allegedly participated in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 and is wanted by the FBI is now seeking asylum in Belarus, the country's state media reported Monday, presenting him as a …

Biden's border woes expose White House divisions as centrists assert more control  —  Illegal border crossings and coronavirus cases were both rising this summer when a group of Biden administration officials developed a plan to vaccinate migrants in U.S. custody, viewing the shots as a sensible public health measure.

Right-wing operatives deploy massive network of fake local news sites to weaponize CRT  —  Judd Legum, Tesnim Zekeria, and Rebecca Crosby  —  Last Tuesday night, Glenn Youngkin (R) was elected the next governor of Virginia.  At 9:15 PM, Garrit Lansing, president of WinRed …

Why Republicans Won in a New York County Where Democrats Outnumber Them  —  Voters readily ousted Democrats in Nassau County on Long Island, electing Republicans down the ballot.  —  It wasn't the high taxes in Nassau County, or the recent changes to New York's bail laws that drove Lizette Sonsini …

MSNBC Regular: ‘Sick of White Men’ Like Carville, ‘Shut the F Up’  —  Text to Speech  —  On Saturday morning's The Cross Connection, MSNBC viewers got a triple helping of racist comments as frequent guests Roland Martin and Elie Mystal took aim at whites.  After Mystal claimed in the show's …

Fed's Quarles Will Resign at End of Year  —  Randal Quarles's term as vice chairman for bank supervision expired last month  —  Federal Reserve governor Randal Quarles said Monday he would resign his position around the end of this year.  —  Mr. Quarles's resignation will open up another seat …

Study: Diversity Statements Required for One-Fifth of Academic Jobs  —  Nearly a fifth of university jobs require diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) statements that press applicants to express and expound upon their commitment to diversity, according to a new study from the American Enterprise Institute.