A Growing Gap  —  We look at Omicron's toll in New York and Seattle, two cities with timely data.  —  Some of the timeliest data on Covid-19 outcomes by vaccination status comes from New York City and the Seattle area, and the two are telling a consistent story.

Justice Dept. forms new domestic terrorism unit to address growing threat  —  The Justice Department is forming a new domestic terrorism unit to help combat a threat that has intensified dramatically in recent years, a top national security official said Tuesday.

Biden Will Endorse Changing Senate Rules to Pass Voting Rights Legislation  —  In Georgia, the president will express support for altering rules around the Senate filibuster, setting up a confrontation with Republicans.  —  WASHINGTON — President Biden will endorse changing Senate rules …

A new plan to ‘Trump-proof’ the 2024 election quietly comes together  —  If Republicans succeed in blocking Democratic efforts to protect voting rights this week, as expected, the push to defend democracy will be anything but dead.  That's because another important proposal to prevent …

Hillary Clinton's 2024 Election Comeback  —  Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have become unpopular.  It may be time for a change candidate.  —  A perfect storm in the Democratic Party is making a once-unfathomable scenario plausible: a political comeback for Hillary Clinton in 2024.

Reps. Comer, Jordan expose new Fauci emails they say point to COVID-19 lab leak ‘cover up’  —  House Republicans questioning why Fauci, others moved away from lab leak theory in early 2020  —  Confidence in Biden, Fauci at an ‘all-time low’: GOP Doctors Caucus member

Ted Cruz's teen daughter comes out as bisexual  —  She described herself as bi on TikTok and said she “basically disagrees” with the far-right Senator on everything - from politics to her clothes.  —  Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz  —  Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-TX) daughter, Caroline …

Americans Reading Fewer Books Than in Past  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans say they read an average of 12.6 books during the past year, a smaller number than Gallup has measured in any prior survey dating back to 1990.  U.S. adults are reading roughly two or three fewer books per year than they did between 2001 and 2016.

Education secretary Cardona solicited NSBA letter comparing protesting parents to domestic terrorists: email  —  NSBA official said controversial letter followed ‘a request by Secretary Cardona’

Conservative Activist Dies of COVID Complications After Attending Anti-Vax ‘Symposium’  —  Kelly Canon had celebrated her vaccine exemption a few weeks before she fell ill with the virus and wound up on a ventilator.  —  A well-known conservative activist in Arlington, Texas …

Media experts sound alarm on rise of paywalled content  —  It's a bull market for media companies targeting high-end readers, with Justin Smith and Ben Smith joining the likes of Puck, Air Mail, The Information, Axios, Punchbowl News, and others targeting influential, wealthy individuals with new digital publications.

Hollywood's New Rules  —  A few years ago, the editor-in-chief of The Hollywood Reporter pitched a story to the newsroom.  He had just come back from lunch with a well-known agent, who had suggested the paper take a look at the unintended consequences of Hollywood's efforts to diversify.

How Democrats Can Win the Information War  —  You can't rely on the traditional media to counter viral propaganda and disinformation.  —  (SHUTTERSTOCK)  —  For the past year, my team of three volunteers and I have immersed ourselves into monitoring the political right.

Mollie Hemingway Misrepresents Mike Rounds's 2020 Election Comments  —  Mollie Hemingway misrepresented Senator Mike Rounds's defense of the integrity of the 2020 election during a Monday Fox News appearance, accusing the South Dakota Republican of dismissing all of the election concerns typically cited …

Tommy Thompson doesn't rule out 5th term as Wisconsin governor  —  “Everything is on the table,” he told WISN 12 Tuesday morning.  “I'm not saying it's in the cards.  But, I'm physically and mentally capable of doing anything.”  —  COPY LINK  —  COPY  —  Stay up to speed on all the latest local and national political news.

Top House Democrat pushes for ‘isolation boxes’ for maskless lawmakers  —  The fourth-ranking House Democrat, Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark (Mass.), urged the sergeant-at-arms on Tuesday to force lawmakers who defy the chamber's mask mandate to cast votes from enclosures in the gallery above to limit potential spread of COVID-19.

Steve Bannon GLOATS After Ezra Klein Praises His Strategies  —  The former Trump strategist exulted over a mention by the liberal columnist.  —  Self-styled reactionary Steve Bannon brandished a compliment he received from Ezra Klein during his Monday broadcast, exulting in praise from the sincere, liberal New York Times commentator.

The Simple Case for Prosecuting Donald Trump  —  On Jan. 6, 2021, Donald Trump sat in the White House watching a riot unfold at the Capitol.  —  Throughout the preceding two months, Trump had been engaged in an obsessive campaign to marshal allies, legal theories, and media support behind a false narrative of a stolen election.

Ted Cruz grills FBI on Ray Epps, asks if FBI had informants on Jan. 6  —  Sen. Ted Cruz on Tuesday grilled a top FBI official on whether bureau informants were present at the Jan. 6 riots — zeroing in on a man named Ray Epps.  —  Jill Sanborn, the FBI's executive assistant director …

Florida sent Evusheld to a private clinic before hospitals  —  Florida shipped a scarce new COVID-19 monoclonal antibody drug to treat the most vulnerable of patients — those with cancer or organ transplants whose immune systems don't respond well to a vaccine — to a private clinic …

College students threaten hunger strike if voting bill isn't passed by Jan. 17  —  Next hunger strike over voting legislation could be ‘nationwide,’ activist said  —  College students threaten hunger strike if Congress doesn't pass voting bill  —  Arizona college students threatened …

'Voter's Remorse'?  Trump Would Win Rematch With Biden  —  President Joe Biden would lose an election rematch to former President Donald Trump, who would win among independents and almost evenly split Hispanic voters.  —  A new Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports national telephone …

McCormick MAGA-proofs his Senate campaign after dissing Trump  —  PHILADELPHIA — Dave McCormick has been quoted bashing populism, celebrating skilled immigration and even warning about the potential drawbacks of an “America First” mindset.  A former hedge fund CEO, he's overseen more than $1 billion in investments in China.

A Missouri Reporter Is Getting Blamed For the Security Flaw He Exposed  —  Hi everyone, it's Jack in Washington.  A Missouri reporter found a security problem on a state website.  The governor claims that's a criminal offense.  But first...  Today's top tech news:  —  From right-click to ‘hacker’

What Happened to the Eviction Tsunami?  —  Since the pandemic began, housing experts (including one of the authors of this article) have been predicting that the pandemic's economic fallout would produce an eviction “tsunami” that could put as many as 40 million people out of their homes.

Ye Planning Russia Trip to Meet Putin and Perform Sunday Service, Says Advisor  —  He also intends to grow his business in the country with billionaire developer Aras Agalarov, sometimes known as the Trump of Russia, and Agalarov's musician son, EMIN.  —  Kanye West is looking east — to Russia.

The woke lives of college girls  —  It's clear by the first episode that Mindy Kaling's The Sex Lives of College Girls isn't going to be much more than it has already presented itself to be: a middle-of-the-road comedy angling for progressive acclaim with nods to intersectionality and feminism.

Military Documents About Gain of Function Contradict Fauci Testimony Under Oath  — Military documents state that EcoHealth Alliance approached DARPA in March 2018 seeking funding to conduct gain of function research of bat borne coronaviruses.  The proposal, named Project Defuse …

Could Trump Be the River Card That Helps Democrats Hold the House?  —  Democrats face long odds.  But not impossible odds.  —  Could Democrats hold the House of Representatives in 2022?  History suggests not.  The number of Democratic congressional retirements suggests not.