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 …

Gaetz's ex-girlfriend enters Florida courthouse where grand jury investigating the congressman meets  —  (CNN)An ex-girlfriend of Rep. Matt Gaetz, who is seen as a key witness in the ongoing investigation into alleged sex trafficking by the Florida Republican, entered an Orlando federal courthouse …

Trump Rips ‘Gutless’ Politicians — Like DeSantis — 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.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice says he's ‘extremely unwell’ after testing positive for coronavirus  —  West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) announced late Tuesday that he's “extremely unwell” after testing positive for coronavirus, forcing him to postpone his State of the State address.

Revealed: The Billionaires Funding the Coup's Brain Trust  —  Conservative mega-donors including the DeVoses and Bradleys are pumping big money into the Claremont Institute think tank that fueled Trump's election-fraud fantasies  —  The Claremont Institute, once a little-known …

Romney warns against getting rid of filibuster, citing possible Trump win in 2024  —  Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Tuesday issued a warning to Democrats about the potential consequences of getting rid of the filibuster and accused President Biden of going down “the same tragic road” of former President Trump.

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 …

POLITICO Playbook: Our exclusive new poll on voting rights  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  INFLATION WATCH — The Consumer Price Index for December 2021 will be released at 8:30 a.m. November's CPI came in at 6.8% for the previous 12 months, the biggest one-year increase since 1982.

Mike Lindell says he has ‘enough evidence’ to put ‘300 million’ Americans in jail for election fraud  —  MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell argued this week that “300 million” Americans belong in jail for election fraud.  —  Lindell's remarks on Real America's Voice were first reported by Right Wing Watch.

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.

Can fact-checking solve the misinformation pandemic?  —  Fact-checking is presented as the antidote to misinformation, but it's not a silver bullet.  —  The 2009 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting was awarded to PolitiFact, a then-upstart fact-checking initiative, for its coverage of a bruising presidential campaign.

Cigarettes Are Making a Comeback  —  Cigarettes, once shunned, have made a comeback with a younger crowd who knows better.  —  On a recent not-so-wintry Thursday in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, when the only snowflakes seen were over text, a gang of 20-somethings stood in a circle outside …

‘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 …

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 …

The Supreme Court takes up a case, brought by Ted Cruz, that could legalize bribery  —  Ted Cruz wants the Court to kill an important anti-corruption law.  —  The details of Federal Election Commission v. Ted Cruz for Senate, a case that the Supreme Court will hear next Wednesday …

Eric Adams Cuts His Brother's Duties After Giving Him Top Police Job  —  Amid concerns of nepotism, Bernard Adams will be executive director of mayoral security, not deputy police commissioner.  He will earn $210,000.  —  When Mayor Eric Adams named a Virginia parking administrator …

Scientists believed Covid leaked from Wuhan lab - but feared debate could hurt ‘international harmony’  —  Emails to Dr Anthony Fauci show ‘likely’ explanation identified at start of coronavirus pandemic, but there were worries about saying so  —  Leading British and US scientists thought …

‘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.

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.

Hanya's Boys … By the time you finish reading A Little Life, you will have spent a whole book waiting for a man to kill himself.  The novel, the second from author Hanya Yanagihara, begins as a light chronicle of male friendship among four college graduates in New York City before narrowing …

Judge orders man convicted of sexual assault to join the military or go to jail  —  “If you don't enroll in 30 days, you can report to the Franklin County Regional Jail.”  —  A Kentucky judge this month gave a man charged convicted of sexual assault a perplexing choice:

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 …

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.

Prince Andrew to face civil sex assault case after US ruling  —  Prince Andrew has failed in his bid to get a civil case which alleges he sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre dismissed by a US judge.  —  Ms Giuffre is suing the prince claiming he abused her when she was 17.

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

A civil war rehearsal?  US Army will conduct a two-week ‘guerilla war’ training exercise in North Carolina to teach Special Forces how to overthrow an ‘illegitimate government’ just weeks after DoJ announced new ‘domestic terrorism’ unit  — Special Forces candidates will participate …

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.

Republicans in at least three states filed forged elector letters; possible pattern seen  —  Rachel Maddow shares reporting from Politico of Republicans in Michigan and Arizona creating fake elector letters pretending to certify Donald Trump and Mike Pence the winners of their states …