DeSantis proposes a new civilian military force in Florida that he would control  —  St, Petersburg, Florida (CNN)Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to reestablish a World War II-era civilian military force that he, not the Pentagon, would control.  —  DeSantis pitched the idea Thursday …

Eastman takes the Fifth with Jan. 6 committee  —  John Eastman, the attorney who helped former President Donald Trump pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 election, has asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, according to a letter he delivered …

Job growth disappoints in November, with a gain of just 210,000, despite high hopes  —  November job growth falls far short of expectations, unemployment rate hits 4.2%  —  The U.S. economy created far fewer jobs than expected in November, before a new Covid threat created a scare that growth …

Biden warns Russia's Vladimir Putin against Ukraine invasion  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday vowed to make it “very, very difficult” for Russian President Vladimir Putin to take military action in Ukraine, saying his administration is putting together a comprehensive set of initiatives to curb Russian aggression.

EXCLUSIVE U.S. State Department phones hacked with Israeli company spyware … Apple Inc iPhones of at least nine U.S. State Department employees were hacked by an unknown assailant using sophisticated spyware developed by the Israel-based NSO Group, according to four people familiar with the matter.

The Supreme Court's End Game on Abortion  —  There are many reasons for dismay over the Supreme Court argument in the Mississippi abortion case, but it was the nonstop gaslighting that really got to me.  —  First there was Justice Clarence Thomas, pretending by his questions actually …

Amy Coney Barrett's Adoption Myths  —  “They're co-opting our lives and our stories.”  —  Twice in oral arguments this week for the abortion case that could overturn Roe v. Wade, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked pro-choice advocates: Would banning abortion be so bad if women …

‘Bags and bags’ of money found stashed in bathroom wall at Joel Osteen's megachurch: report  —  A plumbing repair at televangelist Joel Osteen's megachurch in Houston reportedly led to the discovery of “bags and bags” of cash and checks in a bathroom wall.  —  The discovery came several years …

Video15:08 Inside Australia's Covid internment camp  —  Freddie Sayers spoke to Hayley Hodgson, who has returned from a 14-day detention  —  Hayley Hodgson, 26, moved to Darwin from Melbourne to escape the never-ending lockdowns — only to find herself locked up in a Covid Internment Camp without even having the virus.

Parents of Michigan high school shooting suspect charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter  —  Prosecutors said Friday they would file charges against the parents of the student accused of fatally shooting classmates at a Michigan high school.  —  James and Jennifer Crumbley …

Sidney Powell filed false incorporation papers for non-profit, grand jury finds  —  Trump's lawyer falsely claimed two men as fellow directors of Defending the Republic in an apparent effort to attract donors  —  A federal grand jury investigating Donald Trump's former attorney Sidney Powell …

A drama professor told students they got their feelings hurt too easily.  They decided to fight back  —  It all started with a misunderstanding.  —  A Black theater student at Coastal Carolina University told a visiting drama teacher she wanted to connect with nonwhite students …

Increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection associated with emergence of the Omicron variant in South Africa  —  Juliet R.C. Pulliam, Cari van Schalkwyk, Nevashan Govender, Anne von Gottberg, Cheryl Cohen, Michelle J. Groome, Jonathan Dushoff, Koleka Mlisana, Harry Moultrie

Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene aren't fringe.  They're leading indicators.  —  In the past week or so, some of the most notorious hard-right Republican members in the House have been under fire for anti-Muslim bigotry.  So they and their media allies have now hatched a creative new defense for it:

Burnout, money, concern drive Harris turnover  —  Burnout, better opportunities and concern about being permanently branded a “Harris person” is driving some of the turnover in Vice President Kamala Harris's office, people familiar with the situation tell Axios.

Epstein visited the White House on 14 separate days and stopped by twice in one day on three occasions during Bill Clinton's first term  —  The disclosure puts renewed scrutiny on Clinton's friendship with Epstein, who was known to have flown the former president on his private jet …

Why I Can't Support Trump, the GOP, or Conservatism, Inc. Anymore  —  How many disappointments, betrayals, and failed promises do people need to endure before they say, “Never again?”  —  That the “woke” are anything but awake is a fact that needs no underscoring for readers of this website.

Alec Baldwin on ‘Rust’ shooting: 'Someone is responsible ... but I know it's not me'  —  Actor spoke with George Stephanopoulos for an exclusive interview on ABC, Hulu.  —  On the morning of Oct. 21, Alec Baldwin had an epiphany.  —  Sitting in a church pew on the set of “Rust,” …

As Buttigieg Eyes a Presidential Run, His DOT Is Floundering  —  The transportation secretary has a major role to play in easing the supply chain crisis.  Pete Buttigieg isn't doing the job.  —  The transportation secretary has had very little to say about actual transportation policy during this crisis.

McConnell: No legislative agenda for 2022 midterms  —  Mitch McConnell has told colleagues and donors Senate Republicans won't release a legislative agenda before next year's midterms, according to people who've attended private meetings with the minority leader.

Feds could release ‘alternative’ Mueller report soon  —  An unpublished investigative compilation sometimes referred to as the “Alternative Mueller Report” has been located in Justice Department files and could be released soon, according to a letter filed in federal court Thursday.

POLITICO Playbook: Crisis averted after conservatives cave  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  NO SHUTDOWN — Congress avoided a government shutdown after Senate conservatives dropped their demands to nix President JOE BIDEN's vaccine mandates in the funding bill — and Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER gave them a way out.

North Dakota school superintendent slams critical race theory, calls to teach ‘Christian heritage’  —  A North Dakota school district superintendent sent an email that says racial injustice is being pushed by a “political ideology,” called for a “Christ centered Republic” and deemed critical race theory …

Anti-Woke-Off Breaks Out at Harper's  —  Publisher and president John R. MacArthur considers Walter Kirn's accusation that the magazine terminated him to appease young leftists an outlandish slur  —  An epistolary anti-woker-than-thou standoff over Harper's was sparked by just 23 words …

The Trump Conspiracy Is Hiding in Plain Sight  —  Antebellum pro-slavery radicals spoke freely of secession and violence; Democratic Party paramilitaries planned their attacks on Reconstruction governments in public view; and the men who codified segregation into Jim Crow did so in the open.

Democrats, Not Republicans, Need to Defuse the Culture Wars  —  It's not exactly a secret the Republicans are running hard against the Democrats on sociocultural issues like crime, immigration, ideology in the schools and cancel culture.  Their strategy is to combine attacks …

The U.S. has added nearly 1 million more jobs in 2021 than initially reported  —  The economic news that came first thing Friday morning was not what President Biden had hoped: the country added only 210,000 jobs in November, well below expectations and below the pace needed to replace the jobs lost since the start of the pandemic.