Pressed on his election lies, former President Trump cuts NPR interview short  —  Some Republican leaders are trying to move on from former President Donald Trump's failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election that he lost.  —  “While there were some irregularities, there were none …

December prices rise 7 percent, compared to a year earlier, as 2021 inflation reaches highest in 40 years  —  Officials within the Fed and Biden administration expect high inflation will persist through much of 2022  —  Prices rose at the fastest pace in 40 years in December …

Trump Rips ‘Gutless’ Politicians Who Won't Say If They've Had Vaccine Booster: ‘Say It’  —  Former President Donald Trump said that politicians who don't disclose their booster shot status when asked in interviews are “gutless.”  —  He made the remarks on One America News in an interview aired on Tuesday night.

Dems Can't Afford to Form a Circular Firing Squad on Voting Rights  —  As the president puts himself behind a measure that is unlikely to pass, the choice is whether to credit him for trying or to accelerate the tragedy he's trying to avert. … Is it too little too late?

‘I hate to use this language:’ Marjorie Taylor Greene suggests it's time to use ‘Second Amendment’ on Democrats  —  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Tuesday floated resorting to using the “Second Amendment” to deal with Democrats who are imposing what she described as a “tyrannical” government.

Top Republicans stand up for Rounds after Trump's attack: He ‘told the truth’  —  (CNN)Senior Republicans are closing ranks behind Sen. Mike Rounds after he endured a scathing attack from former President Donald Trump for acknowledging the reality that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election.

Schools See Big Drop in Attendance as Students Stay Away, Citing Covid-19  —  Depressed attendance rates create challenges for teaching and learning; ‘there has never been anything like this’  —  Public-school attendance across the U.S. has dropped to unusually low levels …

Jan. 6 panel subpoenas Trump Jr. advisers, Trump speechwriter  —  The select panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection is homing in on Donald Trump Jr.  —  The committee issued subpoenas for two close advisers, Andrew Surabian and Arthur Schwartz, to former President Donald Trump's eldest son on Tuesday …

NPR hosts' departures fuel questions over race.  The full story is complex  —  In the wake of a trio of departures, news stories and private messages shared among NPR staffers reflected the concern that Black and Latina stars are leaving the network in droves.

Senate Democrats, with White House backing, unveil Russia sanctions bill  —  Senior Democratic senators on Wednesday will unveil a fresh package of sanctions to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin if he invades Ukraine, an effort backed by the White House as the administration seeks to tamp …

Virginia's legislative session will test GOP's ability to roll back Democrats' gains  —  RICHMOND — Legislators from across the commonwealth will gather Wednesday in the Capitol as resurgent Republicans and the spiking coronavirus promise to dominate the annual General Assembly session.

Biden-Cheney 2024?  —  As I've noted before, one reason I pay very close attention to the Israeli-Palestinian arena is that a lot of trends get perfected there first and then go global — airline hijacking, suicide bombing, building a wall, the challenges of pluralism and lots more.

Djokovic Admits False Statement on Australia Travel Document  —  The tennis star also said he had participated in an interview and a photo shoot even after testing positive for the coronavirus, in an apparent violation of rules in his native Serbia.  —  MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic …

Johnson apologises over attending lockdown drinks party  —  Watch live: BBC News coverage of Prime Minister's Questions  —  Play video Watch live: BBC News coverage of Prime Minister's Questions  —  Summary  — Boris Johnson admits he attended a drinks party at No 10 during the first lockdown, saying he was there for 25 minutes

‘Crime tourists’: An international spree targets D.C. area's wealthy Asian residents  —  A string of burglaries in the suburbs revealed a crime trend with worldwide reach  —  Detectives crept into the parking lot of a Days Inn in Alexandria one night in March and surreptitiously attached GPS trackers …

California hospitals find that Omicron causes fewer hospitalizations and shorter stays.  —  A new study of nearly 70,000 Covid patients in California demonstrates that Omicron causes less severe disease than other coronavirus variants.  The new research, posted online Tuesday …

Biden sending more COVID tests to schools to keep them open  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is increasing federal support for COVID-19 testing for schools in a bid to keep them open amid the omicron surge.  —  The White House announced Wednesday that the administration …

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.

Omicron will infect ‘just about everybody,’ Fauci says … The omicron coronavirus variant will infect “just about everybody” regardless of vaccination status, top U.S. infectious-disease expert Anthony S. Fauci said Tuesday.  —  But those who have been vaccinated will “very likely …

Omicron may be headed for a rapid drop in Britain, US  —  Scientists are seeing signals that COVID-19′s alarming omicron wave may have peaked in Britain and is about to do the same in the U.S., at which point cases may start dropping off dramatically.  —  The reason: The variant …

The Big Lie's Long Shadow  —  Mike Cuffe blends in.  Sitting in a chair that almost matches the color of his suit, which almost matches the gray Montana sky outside, the state senator looked a lot like the other legislators in a state administration committee meeting last February.

FAA's Statement On Mysterious Air Traffic Halt Leaves More Questions Than Answers  —  The Federal Aviation Administration has finally put out an official statement regarding a still very mysterious ground stop order that it issued to all aircraft in the western U.S. and Hawaii yesterday around 2:30 PM PST.

A marketing firm that works with Jewish groups, Big Duck, has nixed a potential client because of its Israel ties  —  (JTA) — A marketing firm that has worked extensively with Jewish nonprofits has declined to work with one because of growing concerns among its staff members about groups with “significant programming in Israel.”

MAGA App Gettr Sick of Their Racist Users, Bans Right-Wing Pundit Over N-Word  —  BOOTED  —  The free speech MAGA-loving social media site Gettr, founded by former Trump advisor Jason Miller, banned former Blaze TV host Jon Miller over using the N-word on their platform.

The Times hires five staffers to cover Sacramento, Los Angeles and Northern California  —  The following message was sent on behalf of Deputy Managing Editor Shelby Grad:  —  I am pleased to announce the hiring of new staffers for Metro in Sacramento, Los Angeles and Northern California.