Has the US reinforced its embassy security in Kyiv?  If not, why?  —  Belarus said it will deploy “a whole contingent” of its army along Ukraine's borders during joint military exercises with Russia that are scheduled for Feb. 10-20.  Dictator President Alexander Lukashenko's announcement …

Virginia Is for Suckers  —  If you were a Joe Biden/Glenn Youngkin voter, you ignored a lot of evidence that the man in fleece was no moderate.  —  When Republican Glenn Youngkin narrowly defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe to become Virginia governor, the media roundly hailed him as an avatar of the “post-Trump” GOP.

BREAKING: Fulton judges greenlight special grand jury for Trump probe  —  A panel of Fulton County judges on Monday cleared the way for a special grand jury to be used as part of District Attorney Fani Willis' investigation of former President Donald Trump and his efforts to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results.

Boris Johnson had birthday bash during lockdown, ITV News understands  —  A surprise party, with cake, and up to 30 guests - ITV News UK Editor Paul Brand outlines the events of the party, ITV News understands took place during lockdown  —  ITV News understands Boris Johnson had a birthday party during …

Sarah Palin, who is unvaccinated, recently dined indoors in New York City before testing positive.  —  Sarah Palin, who is not vaccinated against the coronavirus, dined indoors Saturday night at Elio's, an Italian restaurant on the Upper East Side of Manhattan that regularly draws celebrities …

Two Covid Americas  —  The unvaccinated are less worried than the boosted, according to a poll.  —  Covid's starkly different impact on the young and old has been one of the virus's defining characteristics.  It tends to be mild for children and younger adults but is often severe for the elderly.

LA Unified mask policy: Students to wear non-cloth face masks  —  Higher-grade mask rules begin at LA Unified  —  LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Unified School District said it will prohibit students from wearing cloth masks as the highly transmissible omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to spread.

What the Trump Documents Might Tell the Jan. 6 Committee  —  Following last week's Supreme Court ruling, the House panel has received material that it hopes could flesh out how the attack on the Capitol came about.  —  The National Archives has turned over to the House select committee investigating …

New York Judge Strikes Down Governor Hochul's Mask Mandate  —  A New York State Supreme Court judge on Monday ruled that Governor Kathy Hochul's mask mandate for schools and other public locations is unconstitutional.  —  Judge Thomas Rademaker found that the governor and the state health commissioner …

Ron Klain had the perfect résumé.  His first year showed the limits of that experience.  —  As Joe Biden closed in on the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, top advisers approached him with a careful process for choosing and vetting a potential White House chief of staff.

What Does It Mean to Be ‘Done With Covid’?  —  On Saturday, several days after my son stopped testing positive for the coronavirus, I took him out for ramen and then to the movies.  The theater was about half-full; it required masks but also served food and cocktails, which you could, obviously, unmask to consume.

The Federalist Names Mollie Hemingway As Editor In Chief  —  In this new role, Hemingway — who has been The Federalist's senior editor since its founding in 2013 -will now oversee all of The Federalist's editorial operations.  —  Mollie Ziegler Hemingway has been named editor in chief of The Federalist …

Cash Aid to Poor Mothers Increases Brain Activity in Babies, Study Finds  —  The research could have policy implications as President Biden pushes to revive his proposal to expand the child tax credit.  —  WASHINGTON — An experiment that provided poor mothers with cash stipends for the first year …

Ro Khanna Wants to Save Silicon Valley From Itself  —  The Democratic congressman's new book is a striking manifesto for an age of digital anxiety.  —  It's not often that you meet a member of Congress who is eager to discuss the German philosopher Jürgen Habermas.

The ‘Done With COVID’ Crowd Won't Accept That They Won  —  We're living in the world these people want, but they still can't stop complaining.  —  Here is a question for people like UCSF epidemiologist Vinay Prasad: who the hell are you talking about?

Biden refers to Fox News correspondent as a “stupid son of a bitch”  —  President Biden appeared to be caught on a hot mic on Monday, calling a Fox News correspondent a “stupid son of a bitch” after the journalist asked a question about inflation.  It's unclear whether the president knew …

Man invited by coworker to a Pa. cabin ends up dead.  His family says he was lynched  —  16,949  —  PHILADELPHIA — A Jamaican immigrant was shot to death at a rural Pennsylvania cabin last month in an incident his family is describing as a “modern-day lynching.”

Rep. Marie Newman of Illinois may have bribed a primary opponent to stay out of the race in exchange for a job in her office, House ethics body unanimously finds  — The Office of Congressional Ethics voted 6-0 to find reason to believe Rep. Newman bribed a political opponent.

Federal court blocks Alabama congressional map  —  A three-judge federal panel Monday blocked Alabama's new congressional district map from going into effect, ruling that challengers were “substantially likely” to prevail in their arguments that the plan violated the Voting Rights Act (VRA).

Axios-Ipsos poll: Omicron's big numbers  —  Two new Biden administration initiatives — mailing at-home COVID-19 tests to those who ask and making free N95 masks available — are hugely popular, each backed by 84% of Americans in the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.

Cult Classic ‘Fight Club’ Gets a Very Different Ending in China  —  Someone tried very hard to please Chinese movie censors.  —  VZ  —  Fight Club is getting an entirely different ending in a new online release in China, where imported films are often altered to show that the law enforcement …

‘I have no idea’: Vos attorney did not monitor Michael Gableman's compliance with open records law in his election review  —  MADISON - A lawyer for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos testified Monday he had done little to ensure the contractor overseeing a Republican review of the 2020 election …

Feds Are Blowing Their Chance to Seize Jan. 6 Rioters' Guns  —  Half of the 720 rioters who attacked Congress in 2021 are getting misdemeanors—not felonies that would bar them from gun ownership.  —  Of all the dangers presented by the failed attack on the U.S. Capitol last year …

The Whistleblower Behind The FinCEN Files Investigation Has Been Released From Prison  —  Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards, a senior government official who blew the whistle on money laundering in major Western banks, has been released from federal prison this evening, after spending …

Mike Pompeo shells out for media makeover  —  Mike Pompeo's political action committee spent $30,000 on media training from last March to June — the most on any service beyond payroll during the first six months of 2021.  —  Why it matters: The former secretary of State hasn't just been losing weight …

With Some Voters ‘Ready to Move On,’ Democrats Search for New Message on Virus  —  Democrats were cheered for strict lockdowns and pandemic precautions.  Now many weary voters want to hear the party's plan for living with the coronavirus.  —  When the coronavirus pandemic first swept Pennsylvania …