U.S. ends case against Jeffrey Epstein's jail guards  —  U.S. prosecutors decided to end their criminal case against two Manhattan jail guards who admitted to falsifying records on the night the financier Jeffrey Epstein killed himself on their watch.  —  In a Thursday filing in Manhattan federal court …

EXCLUSIVE: AOC Spotted in Miami Beach as NYC Reports Record Covid Cases  —  Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was spotted dining in Miami Beach, Fla. on Thursday, according to a tip received by National Review, on the same day that her native New York City reported a record number of Covid-19 cases.

One Year After Jan. 6, the Hard Right Digs In  —  One year after Donald Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington D.C., the hard right, anti-democracy faction of the Republican base that led the attack threatens to overtake the party for the long term.

Anatomy of a death threat  —  Trump supporters have waged a campaign of intimidation against the state and local officials who administer U.S. elections.  This visual analysis explores hundreds of menacing messages - and explains why they're difficult to counter.  —  SCROLL TO CONTINUE

She Tweeted That Alan Dershowitz Might Be Acting Crazy.  So Yale Fired Her.  —  The strange free-speech case of Bandy Lee.  —  “I think I'll order only a bowl of the New England clam chowder,” Bandy Lee said to me one afternoon several months ago, as we settled in at a restaurant overlooking the Boston Common.

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 …

D.C. had one of the lowest rates of coronavirus cases in the country.  That has changed.  —  New York City was America's first coronavirus epicenter.  Then rural communities became the hub, the virus jumping from one region to another as months passed.  —  The D.C. area was generally low …

Putin Warns Biden of ‘Complete Rupture’ of U.S.-Russia Relationship Over Ukraine  —  President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia spoke with President Biden for 50 minutes about the escalating crisis with Ukraine, but his intentions remained unclear.  —  WASHINGTON — President Vladimir V. Putin …

Ocasio-Cortez staffer calls Israel a ‘racist European ethnostate’ that was built on ‘stolen land’  —  FIRST ON FOX: A staffer for “Squad” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., referred to Israel as a “racist European ethnostate” on social media.  —  Hussain Altamimi joined Ocasio-Cortez's office …

South Africa says that it has passed its fourth wave of cases, and counts few added deaths.  —  The South African government said Thursday that data from its health department suggested that the country had passed its Omicron peak without a major spike in deaths, offering cautious hope to other countries grappling with the variant.

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 …

Pro-Trump lawyer says his plantations were go-to spots for those aiming to overturn the 2020 election  — Lin Wood says he hosted numerous election conspiracists on his plantation properties in South Carolina after the election.  — His guests included fellow Trump ally attorney Sidney Powell …

Bill De Blasio leaves City Hall with broken promises and dashed dreams  —  Bill de Blasio's come-from-behind victory in the 2013 mayoral race gave New York City its first progressive leader in generations — and unleashed eight years of controversy and turbulence that led voters to change course …

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 …

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 …

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.

After 4 Killings, ‘Officer of the Year’ Is Still on the Job  —  A Pennsylvania state trooper was returned to duty following three investigations by his own agency.  A fourth inquiry is underway.  —  In November 2008, Pennsylvania Trooper Jay Splain was honored at a county law enforcement banquet as a hero …

🎬 Why 2022 won't be anything like the 2022 of ‘Soylent Green’  —  “The world has been oscillating between fears of two catastrophes — the population explosion and the atom bomb.  Both pose a mortal threat.  In this intolerable situation, with the menace of doomsday hanging over us …

White House asks Supreme Court to intervene in Remain in Mexico legal battle  —  The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court if it really has to continue a successful policy to thwart illegal migration instated by the previous administration.  The administration is asking that the Supreme Court …

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.

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.