Federal Judges Order Release of Jeffrey Epstein Civil Settlement at Issue in Lawsuit Against Prince Andrew  —  Federal judges ordered the unsealing of a 2009 settlement agreement that Prince Andrew has claimed insulates him from a civil lawsuit accusing him of having sexually abused a 17-year-old girl.

Level 4: Very High … Avoid cruise travel, regardless of vaccination status.  If you travel on a cruise ship, make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel and get a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose if you are eligible.  Getting vaccinated is still the best way to protect yourself from severe disease …

Peter Thiel, Donald Trump Jr. to co-host fundraisers for Cheney challenger  —  The tech billionaire is holding two events at his Miami home benefiting Wyoming Republican Harriet Hageman.  —  Tech billionaire Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr. are co-hosting a pair of January fundraisers …

Weekly jobless claims total 198,000, less than expected and around 52-year low  — Weekly jobless claims totaled 198,000 for the week ended Dec. 25.  — That was below the 205,000 forecast and near the lowest level since 1969.  — Continuing claims also fell, dropping to 1.72 million for their lowest total since March 7, 2020.

Dem Florida gov. candidate Nikki Fried calls out DeSantis's lack of visibility as Omicron surges  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appears to be missing in action as Omicron sweeps across his state.  Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried, who is seeking …

Trump accuses Jan. 6 panel of “seeking evidence of criminal activity”  —  Former President Trump's legal team on Wednesday accused the House committee investigating the Capitol riot of seeking to uncover evidence that would support a criminal referral against him.

'I don't know much about foreign affairs': George W. Bush made startling confession to Britain's US ambassador, National Archive documents reveal  — George W Bush admitted he knew little about international affairs, papers show  — His later presidency was dominated by US military action in Iraq and Afghanistan

Ashraf Ghani: Ex-Afghan president describes moment he fled the Taliban  —  Afghanistan's former president has defended his decision to flee the country as the Taliban closed in earlier this year, saying he did it to prevent the destruction of Kabul.  —  The Taliban seized power in August after taking control of the capital.

The Complicated Legacy of E. O. Wilson  —  We must reckon with his and other scientists' racist ideas if we want an equitable future … Monica R. McLemore is an associate professor in the Family Health Care Nursing Department and a clinician-scientist at Advancing New Standards …

L.A.'s Arms Race of the Affluent  —  From Beverly Hills to Santa Monica, the crime-panicked wealthy are banishing bling and buying guns  —  In Beverly Hills, even the purchase of a firearm comes with certain...expectations.  The city's only gun store, Beverly Hills Guns, is a “concierge service” …

Ted Cruz mistakes ‘Western Australia’ for ‘Washington State’ in botched attack on ‘power-drunk’ Dems  —  Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz apparently confused “Western Australia” with “Washington State” in an attempted attack on Democrats over COVID-19 restrictions on Wednesday night.

British Newspaper Cancels ‘Person Of The Year’ Poll After J.K. Rowling Runs Away With Top Spot  —  Readers of the British newspaper, The Guardian, are accusing the outlet of deactivating an online poll that asked readers to vote on “Person of the Year” after it became apparent that J.K. Rowling would handily win.

Florida COVID update: cases, hospitalizations, deaths  —  Florida on Thursday reported 77,848 additional COVID-19 cases and 90 more deaths to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Miami Herald calculations of CDC data.  The large increase comes from the CDC backlogging cases …

J&J's booster shot provides strong protection against severe disease from Omicron, a study says.  —  A Johnson & Johnson booster shot provided strong protection against the Omicron variant, greatly reducing the risk of hospitalization, according to a clinical trial in South Africa.

A New Ban on Surprise Medical Bills Starts This Week  —  If you have a medical emergency, you will no longer need to worry about a large bill from a doctor you did not choose.  —  For years, millions of Americans with medical emergencies could receive another nasty surprise …

The relentless 2021 news cycle in one chart  —  Between a siege on the Capitol building, a Texas snowstorm, Brood X cicadas, the Olympics and a stuck container ship in the Suez Canal — not to mention endless COVID variants — it's been a busy year.  —  Why it matters: In the inaugural Axios …

Man who uttered 'Let's go Brandon' during Biden call-in event mulls running for office  —  An Oregon man who invoked a coded vulgar insult of President Biden during a Christmas Eve call-in event with the president and first lady is considering running for office and says he would welcome former president Donald Trump's blessing.

Do We Have the Supreme Court We Deserve?  —  When I left the daily Supreme Court beat back in 2008, the Week in Review, as The Times's Sunday Review section was then called, invited me to offer some reflections on nearly 30 years of writing about the court, its cases and its members.

I Thought I Knew Harry Reid.  I Was Wrong.  —  The first time I called Harry Reid's office, I was trying to provoke him.  It was the spring of 2008, and I was working as a banking reporter for a trade publication unhelpfully called SNL Financial and headquartered, just as unhelpfully …

Leader McCarthy Appoints Congressman Michael Turner As Ranking Member of HPSCI  —  Washington, D.C. - House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23) has appointed Congressman Michael Turner (OH-10) to be Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, effective January 1 …

2021 Men of the Year: Michael Avenatti's Prison Guards  —  In almost every instance, kicking a man when he's down is total bitch move.  Unless the down man is Michael Avenatti, in which case kicking is the only honorable course of action.  —  According to a Politico profile of the convicted felon …

Confederate monuments will likely go to Black history museum  —  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia and Richmond officials on Thursday announced a tentative agreement to transfer ownership of the city's now mostly removed Confederate monuments to the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia.

A.O.C. and Manchin Are in the Same Party.  No Wonder Democrats Are Struggling.  —  Ms. Azari has taught and written extensively about the American presidency, political parties and political rhetoric.  —  The promise of Joe Biden's candidacy for president was his potential to assemble …