CDC recommends shorter COVID isolation, quarantine for all  —  NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials on Monday cut isolation restrictions for Americans who catch the coronavirus from 10 to five days, and similarly shortened the time that close contacts need to quarantine.

Trump Defends Remarks in Suit Blaming Him for Capitol Riot  —  Former President Donald Trump is seeking dismissal of a suit accusing him of sparking the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, arguing that speakers at political rallies don't have a “legally enforceable duty of care” to adversaries or others …

POLITICO Playbook: ‘The View’ struggles to find a Republican  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  Before taking off for the holidays, the four long-standing hosts of “The View” had a message for executive producer BRIAN TETA: We're tired of the rotating cast of Republican guest hosts.

Dan Bongino and the Big Business of Returning Trump to Power  —  The Secret Service agent turned radio host is furious at liberals—so he's trying to build a right-wing media infrastructure in time for 2024. … Dan Bongino, one of America's most popular conservative commentators …

Committee investigating Jan. 6 attack plans to begin a more public phase of its work in the new year  —  The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol plans to begin holding public hearings in the new year to tell the story of the insurrection from start to finish …

The One Thing Biden Is Doing Exceptionally Well  —  As 2021 draws to a close, President Joe Biden has good reason to be frustrated.  His legislative agenda is stymied in the Senate.  His executive authority is under assault from Donald Trump's judges.  His administration was blindsided …

Another time capsule found in Robert E. Lee monument  —  “This is likely the time capsule everyone was looking for.”  —  After a time capsule found last week proved to be a letdown, another one has been found in the pedestal of a now-removed Robert E. Lee state in Richmond, Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam announced in a tweet Monday.

Alleged ‘dead’ Georgia voters found alive and well after 2020 election  —  Trump's allegations of vast voter fraud debunked  —  False claims that there were thousands of ballots cast in the names of dead Georgia voters can now rest in peace.  —  Election investigators found …

Men across America are getting vasectomies ‘as an act of love’  —  With the right to abortion under threat, men say they want to play a role in reproductive planning to support their partners  —  After Andy and Erin Gress had their fourth child, Andy decided it was time for him to “step up” and help with the family planning.

Sarah Weddington, Who Successfully Argued Roe v. Wade, Dies at 76  —  She went before the U.S. Supreme Court at 26 with almost no legal experience and won one of the most consequential cases in American history.  —  Sarah Weddington, the young Texas lawyer whose successful arguments …

Richard Marcinko, Founding Commander of SEAL Team 6, Dies at 81  —  The Navy asked Commander Marcinko, a larger-than-life soldier who often flouted rules, to build a SEAL unit that could respond quickly to terrorist crises.  —  Richard Marcinko, the hard-charging founding commander of Navy SEAL Team 6 …

‘I Look Like the Strategy’: Winsome Sears Wants Black Voters to Rethink the G.O.P.  —  The incoming lieutenant governor of Virginia was an unlikely candidate: a deeply conservative Black woman, and an immigrant, who supports Donald Trump.  —  RICHMOND, Va. — On a December afternoon …

Most Americans Side With J.K. Rowling: Only Two Genders  —  Transgender activists have accused J.K. Rowling of “hate speech” for saying it, but most Americans agree with the Harry Potter author that there are only two genders.  —  The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone …

So much happened this year, it can be hard to keep track.  Take our quiz to see if you remember when something actually occurred.  —  The United States reached 500,000 deaths from the coronavirus in the early months of 2021.  Alex Trebek, the beloved ‘Jeopardy!’ host, died of cancer at age 80 in November 2020.

Massive New Bird Flu Outbreak Could Be 2022's Deadly Pandemic  —  In the Galilee, migrating cranes infected with H5N1 are dying by the thousand, raising fears of a global pandemic.  —  Israel's National Security Council has assumed control of a massive bird flu outbreak in the Galilee …

Statement by the President on S. 1605, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022  —  Today, I have signed into law S. 1605, the “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022” (the “Act").  The Act authorizes fiscal year appropriations principally for the Department of Defense …

5 GOP-led states extend unemployment aid to workers who lose jobs over vaccine mandates  —  Critics says the rule changes in Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Kansas and Tennessee are incentivizing people to skip shots, and undermining the White House's pandemic response.

Russian court extends jail term for Gulag historian to 15 years  —  A Russian court on Monday added two more years to a 13-year jail sentence for historian Yuri Dmitriev, in a sex abuse case that his supporters say was trumped up to punish him for uncovering mass graves of Stalin's Gulags.

The 50 Best Podcasts of 2021  —  The shows that kept listeners refreshing their apps this year  —  We take podcast ranking seriously.  Our process starts with a search.  We seek shows anywhere we can find them—sometimes hearing about them directly from producers, other times from a friend …

Justice Roberts Tops Federal Leaders in Americans' Approval  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Chief Justice John Roberts earns the highest job approval rating of 11 U.S. leaders rated in a Dec. 1-16 Gallup poll with 60% approving of how he is handling his role.  —  Only two other leaders on the list …

NLRB Invites Briefs Regarding Independent Contractor Standard  —  In a notice issued today in The Atlanta Opera, Inc. 371 NLRB No. 45 (2021), the National Labor Relations Board invited parties and amici to submit briefs addressing whether the Board should reconsider its standard for determining …

Record Beef Prices, but Ranchers Aren't Cashing In  —  “You're feeding America and going broke doing it”: After years of consolidation, four companies dominate the meatpacking industry, while many ranchers are barely hanging on.  —  SHEPHERD, Montana — Judging from the prices at supermarkets …