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.”

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.

Horrific Bronx fire leaves at least 19 dead, dozens more critically injured  —  At least 19 people are dead, including nine children, after a horrific fire broke out in a Bronx apartment building Sunday morning, according to a police official.  —  The five-alarm blaze broke out at 333 E 181st St …

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 …

A Defense of Jeremy Strong (and All the Strivers With No Chill)  —  Ms. Spiers is a writer and digital media strategist.  She was the editor in chief of The New York Observer, and the founding editor of Gawker.  —  In a December New Yorker profile of the actor Jeremy Strong …

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.

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 …

Penn's Transgender Swimmer Lost To Yale's Transgender Swimmer In A Hotly Contested Women's Ivy League 100 meter Race … Penn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, who had been crushing her competition since joining the women's swim team after three years swimming as a biological male …

‘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.

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.

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.

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 …

Watershed moment in NYC: New law allows noncitizens to vote  —  NEW YORK (AP) — More than 800,000 noncitizens and “Dreamers” in New York City will have access to the ballot box — and could vote in municipal elections as early as next year — after Mayor Eric Adams allowed legislation to automatically become law Sunday.

The Cheneys can't do it alone.  We need Republican all-stars for democracy.  —  The tableau of Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and her father, former vice president Richard B. Cheney, standing on the floor of the House as the sole Republicans to honor the police officers who died as a result …

Vaccine appointments multiply after Quebec requires shots for weed, alcohol stores  —  They're going shots for shots.  —  First-dose vaccine appointments quadrupled in Quebec after the Canadian province required vaccine passports to buy alcohol and marijuana.

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 …

Biden faces delays in undoing Trump's war on efficient dishwashers, dryers and lightbulbs that made him ‘look orange’  —  Nearly three dozen efficiency standards are overdue for an update, and further delays could undercut Biden's climate goals  —  Before Donald Trump launched his war …

Biden Comes Out Swinging Against Republicans as His Agenda Stalls  —  The president pledged to use all of the powers of his office to thwart Republicans still under the thumb of Donald J. Trump.  —  WASHINGTON — President Biden has begun his second year in office by lashing out at Republicans …

Finland and Sweden are ‘closer than ever’ to joining NATO after Putin's demands that US ban them from the military alliance backfire  — The Nordic countries are closer to joining Nato in the wake of Russian threats  — Vladimir Putin had demanded that Nato not expand its membership last week

Walensky says Sotomayor's pediatric COVID hospitalization number was off 96.5%  —  The Supreme Court justice claimed there are more than 100,000 children in ‘serious condition’ from COVID-19  —  CDC director corrects Justice Sotomayor on mischaracterization of pediatric hospitalizations

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.