Trump tested positive for Covid few days before Biden debate, chief of staff says in new book  —  Mark Meadows makes stunning admission in new memoir obtained by Guardian, saying a second test returned negative  —  Donald Trump tested positive for Covid-19 three days before his first debate …

Live Updates: Mississippi Abortion Law Arguments Conclude at Supreme Court  —  The arguments are over.  Here's what happens next.  —  The justices will cast tentative votes at a private conference in the coming days.  The senior justice in the majority will then assign the majority opinion to a colleague or, just as likely, keep it.

1. A majority (52%) of young Americans believe that our democracy is either “in trouble,” or “failing”  — Only 7% of young Americans view the United States as a “healthy democracy”; 27% described the nation as a “somewhat functioning democracy,” 39% a “democracy in trouble,” …

Marcus Lamb, head of Daystar, a large Christian network that discouraged vaccines, dies after getting covid-19  —  Marcus Lamb, founder of the large Christian network Daystar, died Tuesday after contracting the coronavirus.  Lamb's network during the pandemic has made the virus a huge focus …

Governor Charlie Baker telling allies he isn't running for reelection  —  Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, the Republican who maintained the enduring support of his blue state constituents through boom times, the Trump presidency, and in the face of mass death during the COVID-19 pandemic …

POLITICO Playbook: Scoop: Conservatives plot government shutdown over vaccine mandate  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  FRIDAY'S SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN GETS REAL — Conservatives on both sides of the Capitol are privately plotting to force a government shutdown Friday in an effort to defund …

Why the Discredited Dossier Does Not Undercut the Russia Investigation  —  Donald J. Trump and his backers say revelations about the Steele dossier show the Russia investigation was a “hoax.”  That is not what the facts indicate.  —  WASHINGTON — Former President Donald J. Trump and his allies …

First confirmed US case of Omicron coronavirus variant detected in California  —  Tonight, CNN's Anderson Cooper and Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta host a global town hall on the Omicron coronavirus variant and Dr. Anthony Fauci will answer viewer questions.  Watch live at 9 p.m. ET on CNN.

QAnon Followers Rush to Defend Donald Trump After Pilot Testifies He Was on Jeffrey Epstein's Jet  —  QAnon followers and commentators have rushed to defend Donald Trump after Jeffrey Epstein's former pilot testified in Ghislaine Maxwell's trial that the former president had traveled on one of the pedophile's private planes.

L.A. voters angry, frustrated over homeless crisis, demand faster action, poll finds  —  Amid deep frustration over widespread, visible homelessness, Los Angeles voters want the government to act faster and focus on shelter for people living in the streets, even if those efforts are short-term …

Dr. Oz Quacks the Code of Republican Politics  —  Having peddled snake oil for years, he's found his true calling in the GOP.  —  Sean Parnell, the Trump-anointed candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania, dropped out of the race a week ago after a custody hearing that featured lurid details of his relationship with his ex-wife.

Clinton Foundation donations plummet 75%  —  Donations to the Clinton Foundation plummeted to $16 million last year, down nearly 75% from the organization's peak when former secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was running for president, records reviewed by Axios show.

Trump supporter arrested after allegedly casting multiple ballots in Florida  —  A registered Republican and apparent supporter of former president Donald Trump has been arrested and charged with casting more than one ballot in an election.  —  Joan Halstead, a 72-year-old resident of the Villages …

Dark-Money Group Paid Former Trump AG to Ask for Pardons—and He Never Registered as a Lobbyist  —  Former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker left the Trump administration and almost immediately started asking for presidential pardons—without registering as a lobbyist.

Congressman Peter DeFazio Announces He Will Not Seek Re-Election  —  Longest-Serving Member Represented Oregon's Fourth Congressional District for 36 Years  —  U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (OR-04) today announced he will not seek re-election in 2022.  DeFazio, Chair of the House Transportation …

Judge: Trump and allies ‘stoked the flames of fear’ that led to Jan. 6 violence  —  A federal judge said Wednesday that those who organized a pro-Trump Jan. 6 rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol “stoked the flames of fear” and deserve to be held accountable for what they unleashed.

How the Corporate Media Launched a Disinformation Campaign to Protect Fauci  —  As public anger grew over gruesome and medically useless dog experiments funded by Fauci's agencies and budgets, his media allies came to the rescue with a pack of lies. … Its pro-Fauci mission …

Why the CIA is so worried about Russia and Ukraine  —  The CIA discovered something scary in October: Russia was moving troops toward the Ukrainian border — and, unlike in previous border thrusts, was making secret plans about how to use them.  —  The agency also worried that the potential conflict zone …