The Democratic Agenda Dies of Delusions  —  Joe Biden's agenda is on life support.  —  For weeks, the White House and West Virginia senator Joe Manchin had been conducting cordial negotiations over the Build Back Better Act, the president's climate and social spending program.

‘The guy should be fired on the spot’: Fauci rebukes Fox News host over violent rhetoric  —  Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, on Tuesday called on Fox News to fire host Jesse Watters for targeting him with violent rhetoric at a conservative conference earlier this week.

John Thune, a Likely Successor to Mitch McConnell, Weighs Retirement  —  Mr. Thune, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, is considering giving up his South Dakota seat because of both family concerns and Donald Trump's enduring hold on the G.O.P.  —  WASHINGTON — Senator John Thune of South Dakota …

Prominent Harvard Professor Found Guilty of Lying About China Ties  —  Nanoscientist Charles Lieber convicted on six counts related to payments from China  —  A jury on Tuesday found Harvard professor Charles Lieber guilty on six counts related to payments he received from a Chinese government …

The Five Deadly Sins of the Left  —  About a year ago I published an American Compass essay on “The Five Deadly Sins of the Left.”  In that essay, I addressed the surprising fact that the left has not performed as well as one might expect, given the poor performance of free-market capitalism in the 21st century.

Lincoln County looks to eliminate all polling places but one  —  Lincoln County is trying to close all but one polling place for next year's elections, a move opposed by voting and civil rights groups.  —  Relocating voters from the county's seven precincts to a single location will make voting …

New Vintage 2021 Population Estimates Available for the Nation, States and Puerto Rico  —  Estimates Show Slowest Growth on Record for the Nation's Population  —  DEC. 21, 2021 — According to the U.S. Census Bureau's Vintage 2021 national and state population estimates and components …

Potential Rapid Increase of Omicron Variant Infections in the United States  —  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified the potential for a rapid increase in infections of the new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the Omicron variant, in the United States.

Biden Justice Department reverses on returning federal convicts on home detention to prison  —  Under intense pressure from criminal justice reform advocates, the Justice Department has reversed a Trump-era legal opinion that could have required several thousand federal convicts to return …

Special Report: Trump aide set up meeting where election worker was pressured  —  A member of Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign arranged and participated in a meeting at which a Georgia election worker says she was pressed by a Chicago publicist to falsely admit voting fraud.

Why my child wanted me to share their nonbinary identity in our holiday card  —  It was a November morning, and as I was about to share on social media, I paused and re-read my words for the 10th time: “I'd like you all to meet Clark (formerly known as Claire).

This Scientist Created a Rapid Test Just Weeks Into the Pandemic.  Here's Why You Still Can't Get It.  —  Irene Bosch developed a quick, inexpensive COVID-19 test in early 2020.  The Harvard-trained scientist already had a factory set up.  But she was stymied by an FDA process experts say made no sense.

Crisis of Command: The Pentagon, The President, and January 6  —  One of the most vexing questions about Jan. 6 is why the National Guard took more than three hours to arrive at the Capitol after D.C. authorities and Capitol Police called for immediate assistance.

US Army Creates Single Vaccine Effective Against All COVID, SARS Variants  —  Within weeks, Walter Reed researchers expect to announce that human trials show success against Omicron—and even future strains.  —  SENIOR PENTAGON REPORTER, DEFENSE ONE  —  Within weeks, scientists …

Booming U.S. Economy Ripples World-Wide  —  Surging American demand draws investment from overseas with supply chains working to keep pace and driving up prices  —  FRANKFURT—A booming U.S. economy is rippling around the world, leaving global supply chains struggling to keep up and pushing up prices.

GOP proposals at the state level would nix ballot boxes and create new voting ID requirements  —  (CNN)The push to impose voting restrictions at the state level is poised to continue next year as Republicans drive forward with an array of new proposals — ranging from legislation …

A UAE agency put Pegasus spyware on phone of Jamal Khashoggi's wife months before his murder, new forensics show … Emirates flight attendant Hanan Elatr surrendered her two Android cellphones, laptop and passwords when security agents surrounded her at the Dubai airport.

Ex-FBI agent in Whitmer kidnap plot enters plea in case tied to wife's assault  —  Former FBI Special Agent Richard Trask, the lead investigator in the Gov. Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping conspiracy case, pleaded no contest Monday to aggravated assault charges stemming from allegations he beat …

KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: Early Omicron Update  —  Key Findings  — The latest analysis from the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor, fielded after the omicron COVID-19 variant was first detected in the U.S., indicates that vaccinated and unvaccinated adults are having dissimilar reactions to news of the omicron variant.

Gina.  Rosanne.  Guy. … They can't arrest us all," a future defendant had posted days before, and this was the vibe in the moment, the ecstatic invulnerability that leads someone to smear feces on the floor of the building in which the most powerful country on earth writes its rules.

Ra'am's Abbas: Israel is a Jewish state and will remain so  —  The point of view of Arab parties in the past has been that Israel should be a state of all its citizens, not a Jewish state.  —  “The State of Israel was born as a Jewish state, and it will remain one,” Ra'am (United Arab List) …

Gabriel Boric: From Shaggy-Haired Activist to Chilean President  —  Mr. Boric, 35, is now the most prominent face of a generation of Chileans who are calling for a break with the past.  —  Gabriel Boric rose to prominence in Chile ten years ago as a shaggy-haired student leading massive demonstrations …

Female Ex-Pilot in Afghan Military Surfaces in US, Defying Rumors that She Had Been Killed  —  An Afghan woman who was one of the few female pilots in her country's air force quashed an online assertion that she had been stoned to death by the Taliban, saying she is alive and well on the West Coast.

SpaceX aces 100th rocket landing after Dragon cargo ship launch to space station  —  The Dragon launch will deliver NASA supplies and Christmas gifts to the station this week.  —  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX launched its 31st rocket of the year early Tuesday (Dec. 21) …