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.

Leader of Oath Keepers and 10 Other Individuals Indicted in Federal Court for Seditious Conspiracy and Other Offenses Related to U.S. Capitol Breach  —  Eight Others Facing Charges in Two Related Cases  —  A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment yesterday …

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.

The Doom Loop Of “Relevance”  —  Rich Lowry and I disagree about Liz Cheney and Ron DeSantis  —  “Trump and I, we've had a hell of a journey.  I hate it to end this way, oh my God I hate it. ...  All I can say is count me out.  Enough is enough.”  —  Lindsey Graham, Now: (January 12, 2022)

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).

Glenn Beck has Covid again after refusing vaccine: 'It's going into my lungs'  —  Right-wing talk radio personality Glenn Beck on Wednesday said he has contracted Covid-19 for the second time and complained about the disease's effect on his lungs.  —  “It's starting to go into my lungs today and a little disturbing.

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.

Michigan woman arrested near Capitol had loaded shotgun, and she wanted to talk about Jan. 6, police say  — U.S. Capitol Police said they arrested a Michigan woman on multiple gun charges after she drove to Washington and told officers she wanted to talk about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

How the Right's Rules of Rhetoric Create Racial Provocateurs  —  Anti-anti-racism can look a lot like ... racism … One of our nation's most important religious, cultural, and political projects is creating and sustaining a robust and just public policy aimed at repairing the harm inflicted …

The latest Kamala Harris interview went as well as expected  —  How often do clips from an interview with a major politician genuinely make you laugh out loud?  —  Not in a spiteful performative sense, I mean, but in sincere amusement at the haplessness on display?

Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Rise  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose in the first week of January amid raging COVID-19 infections, but remained at a level consistent with rapidly tightening labor market conditions.

‘Under Trump it was so much better’: The reality Democrats may be missing is that people are hurting right 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 …

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 …

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.

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.