Why I'm Seeking a Third Senate Term  —  I'd like to retire, but I think the country is in too much peril.  —  I decided to run for the U.S. Senate in 2010 because growing entitlements and out-of-control federal spending had exploded our national debt to $14 trillion.

Steve Bannon Is Onto Something  —  In his 2020 book “Politics Is for Power,” Eitan Hersh, a political scientist at Tufts, sketched a day in the life of many political obsessives in sharp, if cruel, terms.  —  To Hersh, that's not politics.  It's what he calls “political hobbyism.”

Early Data Hints at Omicron's Potential Toll Across America  —  The extremely transmissible Omicron variant is spreading quickly across the United States, making up a vast majority of U.S. cases after becoming dominant in the week before Christmas.  —  The Centers for Disease Control …

They bought a blender.  Three weeks later, their cats continue to hold it hostage.  —  On Black Friday, Jessica and Nikii Gerson-Neeves bought a blender.  It was a Vitamix blender, a professional-grade splurge, and the couple was looking forward to a winter of smoothies and soups.

Trump's Cable Cabinet: New texts reveal the influence of Fox hosts on previous White House  —  Stephanie Grisham, former press secretary to President Donald Trump, remembers the challenges that came from so many Fox News hosts having the direct number to reach Trump in the White House residence.

What New Yorkers See in This Portrait of the Mayor's Mother  —  Dorothy Mae Adams-Streeter posed for a portrait at her 75th birthday party.  Her image, floating in a brandy snifter, has a powerful resonance.  —  On New Year's Day, when Eric Adams was sworn in as the 110th mayor of New York City …

A rural Washington school board race shows how far-right extremists are shifting to local power … EATONVILLE, Wash. — On the morning she met her opponent for coffee, Sarah Cole walked in with a front-runner's confidence.  —  To Cole, the school board seat in this rural red district about an hour outside Seattle was all but hers.

Alan Dershowitz asked Donald Trump to grant Ghislaine Maxwell a pre-emptive pardon  —  Jeffrey Epstein's former lawyer lobbied Donald Trump to pre-emptively pardon Ghislaine Maxwell during the final days of his presidency after talks with her family.  —  Alan Dershowitz, 83 …

‘We are going right to the belly of the beast’: Biden takes on Georgia  —  Fresh off a high-profile speech in which he warned that a dagger had been placed at the throat of American democracy, President Joe Biden will travel to the state that White House officials view as “ground zero” for Republican-led election suppression efforts.

The West has a rare window to put Putin in his place  —  Biden to Ukraine: US ‘will respond decisively if Russia further invades’  —  (CNN)Next week may see one of the most significant and defining moments in relations between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Russia since the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Sotomayor's false claim that ‘over 100,000’ children are in ‘serious condition’ with covid  —  “Those numbers show that omicron is as deadly and causes as much serious disease in the unvaccinated as delta did. ...  We have over 100,000 children, which we've never had before, in serious condition and many on ventilators.”

Adams says Democratic Party has to be ‘radically practical’ in midterms  —  New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) on Sunday said the Democratic Party has to be “radically practical” if it wants to win November's midterm elections.  —  Asked by co-anchor Jake Tapper on CNN's “State of the Union” …

GOP senator says Trump's election allegations are unfounded  —  Sen. Mike Rounds on Sunday made it clear that he didn't subscribe to Trump's conspiracy theories about the 2020 election being stolen from him.  —  “As a part of our due diligence, we looked at over 60 different accusations …

A couple Sunday-morning thoughts on where we are now in the nation's covid fight, summarizing the attached story and some of our other recent coverage.  —  1) It's a tale of two variants right now.  The older Delta variant is still responsible for some severe cases, hospitalizations and deaths, particularly in the Midwest.

Biden shied away from news conferences, interviews in Year 1  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — In what's become a familiar scene President Joe Biden lingered after delivering a recent speech on the pandemic as reporters fired a barrage of questions.  —  He bristled at a query about the shortage …

FACT FOCUS: Unfounded theory used to dismiss COVID measures  —  An unfounded theory taking root online suggests millions of people have been “hypnotized” into believing mainstream ideas about COVID-19, including steps to combat it such as testing and vaccination.

Russia may have bolstered its hand in Kazakhstan.  But the danger remains high.  —  To the world's slippery slopes, add Kazakhstan.  Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies organized a quick transfer of power there this week, but analysts say the situation remains volatile.