Former President Barack Obama: We need to follow John Lewis' example and fight for our democracy  —  “The world, and future generations, will be watching,” Obama writes as he calls on Senate to “do the right thing” and pass legislation to protect voting rights.  —  Barack ObamaSpecial to USA TODAY

McCarthy's plot to build the House of Trump  —  Kevin McCarthy is signaling he'll institutionalize key Trumpian priorities if he takes over as House speaker next year — aggressive tactics targeting undocumented immigrants, liberals and corporate America.  —  Why it matters …

R.N.C. Signals a Pullout From Presidential Debates  —  The Republican National Committee says it will require candidates to pledge to not participate in debates run by the Commission on Presidential Debates.  What would replace them, if anything, was unclear.

Is Omicron Peaking?  —  In parts of the Northeast, it seems to be.  —  The number of new Covid-19 cases in New York City rose more than twentyfold in December.  In the past few days, it has flattened.  —  In both New Jersey and Maryland, the number of new cases has fallen slightly this week.

Republicans who falsified Michigan electoral college vote under scrutiny from Congress, Attorney General  —  1,204  —  Falsified documents claiming Michigan's electors voted for former President Donald Trump were given by state election officials to a congressional panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 riot.

The Capitol Riot Really Was an Insurrection  —  A response to Jeffrey Scott Shapiro on the legal definition in the U.S. Code.  —  Jeffrey Scott Shapiro is correct that insurrection under 18 U.S.C. 2383 is a crime with specific elements ("Stop Calling Jan. 6 an 'Insurrection,'" op-ed, Jan. 6).

Trump is eyeing the White House and wants a more compliant Senate for when he gets there  —  As Donald Trump charts out his midterm elections strategy, his focus has turned to the contest for the Senate, not just in hopes of getting it back under GOP control but of having more compliant lawmakers there should he become president again.

‘Under Trump it was so much better’: The reality Dems may be missing is that people are hurting now  —  Reno, Nevada (CNN)Outside a Costco, Laura Godinez lifts meat, toothpaste, coffee, bottled water and bulk supplies of DayQuil from her cart — just the staples in a pandemic-era weekly shopping trip …

The past seven years have been the hottest in recorded history, new data shows … In the middle of a historically sweltering summer, a NASA researcher stood before Congress and declared the unvarnished, undeniable scientific truth: “The greenhouse effect has been detected,” James Hansen said.

Loudoun Rapist Sentenced, Put On Sex Offender Registry For Life  —  LOUDOUN COUNTY, Virginia — The 14-year-old boy who raped a ninth-grader in a girls' bathroom while he wore a skirt and blouse was sentenced on Wednesday to residential treatment, as it emerged that he also allegedly attacked a third girl …

Army offers up to $50k in enlistment incentives  —  The U.S. Army is offering its largest bonus ever for new recruits with up to $50,000 available to qualified individuals who sign on for a six-year active-duty enlistment.  —  The total incentive package for a new recruit is based …

Fire Jeff Zients  —  Biden's COVID czar has gone from ‘Mr. Fix-It’ to grim reaper, steering the administration's pandemic response to catastrophic lows.  —  White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients speaks during a press briefing at the White House, April 13, 2021.

A Look Inside Rikers: ‘Fight Night’ and Gang Rule, Captured on Video  —  Videos obtained by The New York Times reveal scenes of violence as the Department of Correction struggles to restore order in the jail system.  —  The men had gotten along on Rikers Island, had even been friendly …

U.S. Diplomats in Geneva, Paris Struck With Suspected ‘Havana Syndrome’  —  Mysterious neurological ailment has afflicted as many as 200 U.S. officials in diplomatic posts world-wide  —  WASHINGTON—Officials serving at U.S. diplomatic missions in Geneva and Paris are suspected …

Biden to announce purchase of additional 500 million COVID-19 tests  —  President Biden will announce Thursday that his administration is purchasing another 500 million COVID-19 tests amid a surge in coronavirus cases and subsequent pressure to boost testing.

Biden claims yet another arrest for which there's little evidence  —  “I did not walk in the shoes of generations of students who walked these grounds.  But I walked other grounds.  Because I'm so damn old, I was there as well.  You think I'm kidding, man.  It seems like yesterday the first time I got arrested.”

Trump loyalists form alliance in bid to take over election process in key states  —  ‘Coalition of America First secretary of state candidates’ disclosed by Jim Marchant, who is running for secretary of state in Nevada  —  Extreme Republicans loyal to Donald Trump and his “big lie” …

D.C. delegate says Ted Cruz's effort to block district's student vaccine mandate ‘crosses the line’  —  The Republican senator from Texas says D.C ‘has no right’ to force parents to get their children vaccinated for COVID-19.  —  WASHINGTON — Eleanor Holmes Norton has a message for Texas …

Fox News Airs 11-Year-Old Photo of Empty Shelves in Japan to Slam ‘Bare Shelves Biden’  —  During the opening segment of Wednesday's Fox News Primetime, the network displayed a graphic of bare shelves at a grocery store to underscore rising inflation.  Earlier in the day …

Energy Department to announce Clean Energy Corps, hire 1,000 staffers to work on climate change  —  Good morning and welcome to The Climate 202!  Yesterday was a busy day for climate policy, but we've got you covered.  —  Biden's Energy Department to announce Clean Energy Corps, will hire 1,000 staffers to work on climate change

Jobless claims rise more than expected to 230,000 as omicron spikes  —  The number of new applications for unemployment benefits climbed 23,000 last week to 230,000, more than anticipated and a discouraging sign for the recovery.  —  The new numbers were reported on Thursday morning by the Labor Department.

Cannabis Compounds Prevented Covid Infection in Laboratory Study  —  Cannabis compounds prevented the virus that causes Covid-19 from penetrating healthy human cells, according to a laboratory study published in the Journal of Nature Products.  —  The two compounds commonly found in hemp …