Fox News to Light New Christmas Tree After Previous One Torched  —  Fox News Media announced on Wednesday that a new tree will be lit on Thursday evening after its original one was allegedly burned by an arsonist early Wednesday morning.  —  The event on Fox Square in New York will include network personalities, clergymen and others.

The AP Interview: CDC chief says omicron mostly mild so far  —  NEW YORK (AP) — More than 40 people in the U.S. have been found to be infected with the omicron variant so far, and more than three-quarters of them had been vaccinated, the chief of the CDC said Wednesday.

Scoop: Trump-backed Perdue says he wouldn't have certified Georgia 2020 results  —  Georgia gubernatorial candidate David Perdue wouldn't have signed the certification of the state's 2020 election results if he had been governor at the time, the former Senate Republican told Axios.

Meadows Sues Pelosi in Bid to Block Jan. 6 Committee Subpoena  —  The suit came hours after the committee said it would prepare a criminal contempt of Congress referral against Mark Meadows, who was President Donald J. Trump's chief of staff on Jan. 6.  —  WASHINGTON — Mark Meadows …

Senate votes to nix Biden's vaccine mandate for businesses  —  The Senate on Wednesday voted to nix President Biden's vaccine mandate for larger businesses, handing Republicans a symbolic win.  —  Senators voted 52-48 on the resolution, which needed a simple majority to be approved.

Low-profile heiress who ‘played a strong role’ in financing Jan. 6 rally is thrust into spotlight  —  Eight days before the Jan. 6 rally in Washington, a little-known Trump donor living thousands of miles away in the Tuscan countryside quietly wired a total of $650,000 to three organizations that helped stage and promote the event.

Sanna Marin: Finland's PM sorry for clubbing after Covid contact  —  Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin has apologised for going clubbing after coming into close contact with a Covid-19 case.  —  Sanna Marin went on a night out in Helsinki on Saturday, hours after her foreign minister had tested positive.

De Blasio Fought for 2 Years to Keep Ethics Warning Secret.  Here's Why.  —  Mayor Bill de Blasio was warned that he created an “appearance of coercion and improper access” by directly contacting donors who had business before the city.  —  When Bill de Blasio was first elected mayor of New York …

Jussie Smollett's final act: How a hate crime hoax became a pitch for jury nullification  —  In his testimony before a Chicago jury this week, actor Jussie Smollett talked about how he has had to carefully maintain his image as “a black Cary Grant.”  The “Empire” star, however …

Biden makes diplomatic concession to Russia with Nato talks plan  —  US president wants allies to discuss Moscow's ‘concerns’ in attempt to prevent invasion of Ukraine  —  Joe Biden has made a significant diplomatic concession to Moscow designed to prevent an invasion of Ukraine by signalling …

Biden to award three Medals of Honor for combat actions in Iraq, Afghanistan  —  The Biden administration is planning to award Medals of Honor to three U.S. soldiers who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to people familiar with the matter, a group that includes the first Black service member …

Believe it or not, Fox News once knew shame  —  It wasn't so very long ago that Fox News had some standards for what was unacceptable.  —  In 2008, a Fox host named E.D. Hill suggested that a playful fist bump between Barack and Michelle Obama looked like a “terrorist fist jab.”

Biden's ‘Summit for Democracy’ needs to be democratized  —  President Biden's “Summit for Democracy” begins tomorrow with the laudable aim to reenergize global commitment to democracy during a dangerous period of backsliding and rising authoritarianism.  Yet the process — organization …

Inclusion Delusion: The Antisemitism of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Staff at Universities  —  Authors:  —  SUMMARY … Universities ostensibly employ diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) staff to create more tolerant and welcoming environments for students from all backgrounds.

Hillary Clinton chokes up as she reads parts of the victory speech she hoped to deliver in 2016  —  For the first time, Hillary Clinton is sharing the speech she would have made if she had won the 2016 presidential election.  —  The former first lady and secretary of state grows emotional …

Youngkin pledges to pull Virginia from carbon market by executive order  —  Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin is pledging to use executive action to pull Virginia out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a carbon market involving 10 other Mid-Atlantic and New England states.

'It's just crazy': 12 major cities hit all-time homicide records  —  “It's worse than a war zone around here lately,” police official said.  —  At least 12 major U.S. cities have broken annual homicide records in 2021 — and there's still three weeks to go in the year.

More Evidence Muddles Durham's Case on Lawyer's Meeting With F.B.I.  —  One disclosure dovetails with the special counsel John Durham's indictment against Michael Sussmann, while several others clash with it.  —  WASHINGTON — When a special counsel accused a prominent cybersecurity lawyer …

California plans to be abortion sanctuary if Roe overturned  —  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — With more than two dozen states poised to ban abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court gives them the OK next year, California clinics and their allies in the state Legislature on Wednesday revealed a plan to make the state a …

Tracing America's Covid vaccine conspiracies to autism fearmongering  —  Anti-vaxxers are now melding with anti-democratic extremists.  But this movement's roots can be traced to men like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and their autism falsehoods.  —  Last week, the Centers for Disease Control …

Historic blunder?!  State moves to protect Penn Station and MSG, jeopardizing redevelopment  —  Penn Station, Madison Square Garden and 2 Penn Plaza should be added to the National Register of Historic Places, a state agency said, a move that could delay or even kill efforts to rebuild the dismal and dangerous rail hub.

Fox News Probed by New York State Over Ex-Host's Gender Discrimination and Retaliation Claims  —  Melissa Francis disappeared from Fox's air last year amid a dispute over pay discrimination.  The Daily Beast has learned that New York's labor department is probing her claims.

Backroom defense bill lets dictators and kleptocrats off the hook  —  The most important national security legislation of the year has just been mismanaged so badly, it could end up letting some international bad guys escape accountability for some pretty horrible abuses and crimes.

The Turn  —  When I saw the left give up everything I believe in, I changed politically.  You can, too.  —  For many years—most of my politically cognizant life, in fact—I felt secure in my politics.  Truth and justice, I believed, leaned leftward.  If you were some version of a decent human being …

Torrance police traded racist, homophobic texts.  It could jeopardize hundreds of cases  —  The caption read “hanging with the homies.”  —  The picture above it showed several Black men who had been lynched.  —  Another photo asked what someone should do if their girlfriend was having an affair with a Black man.