Trump cancels Jan. 6 event amid GOP complaints  —  Senate Republicans can now breathe easier on Jan. 6.  —  Former President Donald Trump's announcement Tuesday evening that he would cancel a previously planned press conference is good news for Senate Republicans, who earlier in the day openly fretted …

Ben Smith Is Leaving The Times for a Global News Start-Up  —  Mr. Smith will help start a new organization with Justin Smith, the chief executive of Bloomberg Media.  —  Ben Smith, the media columnist for The New York Times, is leaving the paper to start a new global news organization with Justin Smith …

Entrata founder emails Utah tech CEOs, claiming COVID vaccine part of extermination plot by ‘the Jews’  —  SALT LAKE CITY — The founder and chair of Entrata, a Silcon Slopes tech firm, sent an email to a number of tech CEOs and Utah business and political leaders, claiming the COVID-19 vaccine …

I-95 remains shutdown as VDOT says no more motorists are stranded  —  Have you or someone you know been stuck on I-95?  Tell WTOP about your experiences.  —  Listen to WTOP live online and on the radio at 103.5 FM.  Download the free WTOP News app for Android and Apple phones to sign up for custom traffic and weather alerts.

Democracy is not in crisis just because Democrats are losing  —  Everywhere you look, Democrats are warning about the threat to democracy currently posed by Trump or the GOP or some combination of the two.  The panic seems omnipresent and is peaking as we approach the anniversary of the Jan. 6 riots at the capitol.

No Way to Grow Up  —  American children are in crisis.  —  American children are starting 2022 in crisis.  —  I have long been aware that the pandemic was upending children's lives.  But until I spent time pulling together data and reading reports, I did not understand just how alarming the situation had become.

The Radicalization of J.D. Vance  —  As he runs for the Senate, the ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ author has gone from media darling to establishment pariah.  Is his new, fiery, right-wing persona an act?  Or is something more interesting going on?  —  Let's start with the beard.  J.D. Vance didn't used to have one.

Manhattan DA to stop seeking prison sentences in slew of criminal cases  —  Who needs soft-on-crime judges when the district attorney doesn't even want to lock up the bad guys?  —  Manhattan's new DA has ordered his prosecutors to stop seeking prison sentences for hordes of criminals …

Ron Johnson escalates attack on vaccines: ‘Why do we think that we can create something better than God?’  —  Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) this week doubled down on his campaign to promote the so-called “natural immunity” that occurs after one has been infected by Covid-19.

Ron DeSantis's Vaccination Status Is Now a State Secret … Florida governor Ron DeSantis has been walking a delicate balancing act on vaccinations, assiduously courting vaccine skeptics without going so far to the right that he lands in Marjorie Taylor Greene territory.

Sen. Ted Cruz says Republicans are likely to impeach Biden if they retake House  —  Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) predicted Republicans would move to impeach President Biden “whether it's justified or not” if they retake the House in this year's midterm elections.  —  The White House responded Tuesday …

Capitol rioter compares attacks on her to treatment of ‘Jews in Germany’  —  Jenna Ryan, a Texas realtor who has sought to parlay her role in the Capitol riot into a career as a right-wing media personality, posted a tweet in March last year that quickly went viral.

Leftists Are Ascendant in Latin America as Key Elections Loom  —  Growing inequality and sputtering economies have helped fuel a wave of leftist victories that may soon extend to Brazil and Colombia.  —  RIO DE JANEIRO — In the final weeks of 2021, Chile and Honduras voted decisively …

Inside D.C.'s Rowdy New Progressive Scene  —  Once a month, in the latter, vaccinated half of 2021, denizens of D.C.'s progressive ecosystem flocked to a bar in Washington's Adams Morgan neighborhood for a happy hour hosted by the pollster and think tank Data for Progress.

New COVID-19 variant named IHU discovered in France  —  What is the IHU variant?  —  A new COVID-19 variant has been discovered in France.  It is called IHU.  —  NEW YORK - A new COVID-19 variant has been detected in France.  The variant has been named IHU.

BREAKING: Chicago Teachers Union Begins Strike Over in-Person Learning  —  As many schools across the country resume in-person learning after the holiday break, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) finds itself in turmoil.  —  On Tuesday, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) voted to refuse anything but a return to remote learning.