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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

‘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 …

‘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.

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.

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:

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.

6abc anchor Jim Gardner signs off from Action News at 11  —  Jim Gardner has held the long-tenured position of anchor of Action News at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. since May 11, 1977 … Jim Gardner signs off from Action News at 11  —  PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — It's the end of an era here on Action News.

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

Joe Biden's deplorable lies in Atlanta may not even be in his own partisan interest  —  How to explain why an ultra-experienced politician makes a major speech for a bill that is both doomed to fail and unpopular with voters?  Especially when his speech is boycotted by the bill's chief backers …

Trump says Rep. Elise Stefanik could be president in 2028 at Palm Beach fundraiser  —  Former President Donald Trump heaped praise onto Rep. Elise Stefanik during a fundraiser in Florida Tuesday evening, saying the House GOP Conference boss could be commander-in-chief in 2018.