Russia conducts new military exercises as Biden, Europeans intensify diplomacy on Ukraine  —  MOSCOW — Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the United States on Tuesday of “building up tension” over Ukraine, as Russia launched simultaneous military exercises across the country involving thousands …

DeSantis Touts Covid Treatments After FDA Says They Don't Work  —  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is calling on regulators to allow use of two monoclonal antibody therapies for Covid-19 after the Food and Drug Administration halted their use in a ruling neither manufacturer disputes.

Neil Young Demands Spotify Remove His Music Over ‘False Information About Vaccines’  —  Neil Young posted a since-deleted letter to his management team and record label demanding that they remove his music from Spotify.  “I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines …

America can't quit polarizing politicians  —  New data finds that the nation's most polarizing politicians are often the ones that garner the most attention online.  —  Why it matters: Online engagement helps politicians build a bigger national profile and more fundraising power …

Manufacturers have less than five days' supply of some computer chips, Commerce Department says  —  Wafer-thin inventories leave factories vulnerable to shutdowns if their chip deliveries are interrupted by weather events or covid-19  —  Manufacturers and other buyers of computer chips …

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.

New Media Outlet Grid Backed by Progressive Stars, Gulf Money, and Foreign Agents  —  The new progressive media outlet Grid, which has attracted press buzz and big-name talent, was developed by registered lobbyists for the United Arab Emirates with funding from UAE's deputy prime minister, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.

McConnell plots GOP midterm strategy amid Trump's primary influence  —  (CNN)Former President Donald Trump has been relentless in his attacks against Senate Minority Mitch McConnell, making Republicans uneasy as they battle for the majority in the November midterms.

Kids Shouldn't Have to Be ‘Resilient’  —  Six years ago, on a Saturday afternoon, I got a call from a law-enforcement officer telling me that my husband had died in a bike wreck during a charity race for cancer research.  I had a toddler and was pregnant with my second daughter at the time.

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.

The Bogus Claim That School Closures Will Doom Democrats  —  If you've read any national news stories over the past few months about the political implications of pandemic-induced school closures, you've likely come across Brian Stryker's name.  He's become the go-to source for reporters and commentators …

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.

Brianna Keilar Ridicules Putin ‘Propagandist’ Tucker Carlson: ‘Why is Rupert Murdoch Letting BS On the Air?’  —  Brianna Keilar flatly called Tucker Carlson “chief propagandist” after Fox News repeatedly called for political support for authoritarian Russian President Vladimir Putin over the emerging democracy of Ukraine.

Jan. 6 panel: Lawyer behind Trump election memos invoked 5th Amendment 146 times  —  American law professor; legal and constitutional scholar  —  48th Vice President of the United States  —  John Eastman, the conservative law professor who authored memos outlining how President Donald Trump …

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 …

Another wave of death  —  Omicron infections are trending down nationally, but the number of deaths is as high now as it was during the summer's Delta wave.  —  Why it matters: Preventing death is the ultimate goal, and thousands of Americans continue to die from this coronavirus every …

New York judge strikes down state mask mandate  —  A New York judge struck down the state's mask mandate on Monday, one week before it was due to expire, ruling the governor overstepped her authority in imposing a rule that needed to have been passed by the state legislature.

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.

Steve Bannon was deplatformed.  An obscure media mogul keeps him on the air.  —  ‘War Room’ is at the center of a fledgling network monetizing what some employees saw as ‘Trump propaganda.’  —  Two years after being cast out of the White House, Stephen K. Bannon spoke from a steep, dusty hill outside El Paso, asking for donations.

On Substack, COVID misinformation is allowed to flourish  —  “It's not against the rules to be disagreeable or wrong.” … Dr. Joseph Mercola, touted as “the pioneer of the anti-vaccine movement,” gained fame during the pandemic for spreading COVID misinformation and offering alternative, false ‘cures’.

Republicans lied about the need for a Jan. 6 commission.  There is a lot it already uncovered.  —  Among Republicans' many feeble excuses for nixing a bipartisan commission on the Jan. 6 insurrection was the notion that there was nothing more to learn about that day.

Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman speaks publicly for first time since Jan. 6 insurrection  —  For the first time since the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman has spoken out publicly about his experiences during the attack, where his actions were credited with saving countless lives.

Chuck Schumer should call the Baileys  —  Has primaryphobia led the majority leader astray?  —  I'm worried about Chuck Schumer.  Not for him personally — I think he's thriving.  But I'm worried about his leadership of the Senate Democratic caucus, which I think has been unsound …

Scoop: Trump's new social network quietly courting influencers  —  Former President Trump's elusive new social media network Truth Social — which plans to go public — is reaching out to internet influencers asking them to “reserve their spots” for when it launches in February or March.

POLITICO Playbook: Schumer strategy leaves some Dems seething  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  Frustration with CHUCK SCHUMER's leadership strategy is privately simmering among some Hill Democrats.  —  We talked to a half-dozen senior Democratic staffers in both chambers Monday night and heard …

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.

'It'll ultimately matter in 2024': Behind Kamala Harris' early Wisconsin visit  —  MILWAUKEE - Vice President Kamala Harris landed here for a few hours on Monday and Democrats exhaled.  —  They saw a visit from the vice president in January as not just a sign the Biden administration …