Wicker: Black Woman Supreme Court Pick An Affirmative Action ‘Beneficiary’  —  The first Black woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court in history will be a “beneficiary” of affirmative action, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker told a radio show this afternoon.  The senior Republican senator from Mississippi …

Trump WH spokesman is sent subpoena by January 6 committee  —  (CNN)The House Select Committee investigating January 6 has issued a subpoena Friday for a former White House spokesman with firsthand knowledge of Donald Trump's behavior before and during the January 6 attack on the Capitol …

News Item  —  I Stand With Neil Young!  —  I've decided to remove all my music from Spotify.  Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives.  I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.  —Joni Mitchell

White House Warnings Over Russia Strain Ukraine-U.S. Partnership  —  While Ukraine's president complained about “acute and burning” warnings from Washington, the Pentagon issued a dire new appraisal asserting Russia has amassed enough troops to invade his entire country.

Top Chinese scientist working in Hypersonic program flees China with critical secrets  —  Vikrant Thardak  —  Reading Time: 4 mins read  —  Become a Patron!  —  The US officials were left stunned when a Financial Times report revealed that Beijing had tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August last year.

The Secret Service Is Watching Former Ambassador John Bolton's House  —  Secret Service Police vehicles have been monitoring the home of John Bolton, a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, for at least the past two days.  —  On Wednesday and Thursday, two white SUVs …

What I Learned in 25 Years of Writing for Slate  —  In 1996, Michael Kinsley called me with an offer.  He was starting a magazine and wanted somebody to write a column, “The Horse Race,” tracking the presidential campaign.  The race was boring—Bob Dole never had a shot against Bill Clinton—but the magazine, Slate, was exciting.

Art Spiegelman sees the new ban of his book ‘Maus’ as a ‘red alert’  —  Art Spiegelman didn't set out to write an educational aid for young-adult readers.  A half-century ago, he simply wanted to better know his own origin story, discover more about his parents' histories — and hear from his father …

Putin's case for invading Ukraine rests on phony grievances and ancient myths … Last July, Vladimir Putin supplied the mythical basis for Russian war propaganda in an essay titled “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians.”  The essential idea is that Russia has the right to Ukraine …

Why ‘imminent’ pisses Zelenskyy off  —  With help from Paul McLeary, Nahal Toosi, David Herszenhorn, Oriana Pawlyk and Daniel Lippman  —  In November, Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY couldn't ring alarm bells loudly enough.  “There is a threat today that there will be war tomorrow.

Kansas Man on ‘Mission From God’ Charged With Threatening Biden's Life  —  ‘BLOOD OF THE LAMB’  —  A Kansas man claiming he had been told by God to travel to Washington, D.C., to “lop off the head of the serpent in the heart of the nation” has been charged with threatening …

Twitter says it has quit taking action against lies about the 2020 election  —  (CNN)Twitter quit taking action to try to limit the spread of lies about the 2020 election, the company said on Friday — a day after another social media platform, YouTube, removed a Republican congressman's campaign ad because it included a 2020 lie.

Biden Had Strategy to Beat Covid-19.  Then Variants Arrived.  —  Some public-health officials say president's team overlooked steps that could have helped mitigate Omicron surge  —  WASHINGTON—President Biden took office with a detailed plan to battle Covid-19 by accelerating vaccinations …

White House confirms South Carolina judge is under consideration for Supreme Court  —  The White House on Friday confirmed that President Biden is considering a South Carolina federal judge and favorite of House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) as a potential candidate for the Supreme Court.

Trump Tower Lawyer Veselnitskaya Accused of Brand New Crime in Leaked Docs  —  NEVERENDING STORY … New court papers accuse the notorious Trump Tower lawyer of a clandestine effort to tamper with official government papers.  —  LONDON—Trump Tower lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya has been accused …

Shovel more dirt onto Build Back Better  —  West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin first killed President Joe Biden's Build Back Better agenda in December.  As he explained it, he could not support legislation that contributed to “inflation taxes that are real and harmful to every hard-working American.”

Washington trooper who defied state vaccine mandate and told gov to ‘kiss my a—’ dies from COVID-19  —  Former Trooper Robert LaMay was 51 years old  —  Ivy League parents take stand over college vaccine booster mandates  —  A Washington State Patrol officer who defied a statewide vaccine mandate …

The Equal Rights Amendment Is Now the Law of the Land.  Isn't It?  —  Mr. Wegman is a member of the editorial board.  —  Even if you are a political junkie, there's a good chance you didn't realize that the United States Constitution grew 58 words longer this week.

We Still Can't See American Slavery for What It Was  —  The historian Marcus Rediker opens “The Slave Ship: A Human History” with a harrowing reconstruction of the journey, for a captive, from shore to ship:  —  An estimated 12.5 million people endured some version of this journey …

Senators Target Google With New Bill to Break Its Grip on Murky Ad Tech Market  —  A bipartisan group of U.S. senators that has been trying to rein in Google and other big tech companies plans to introduce a bill that would regulate the shadowy world of online ads more like how the government regulates Wall Street.

Pennsylvania court declares state's mail-in voting law unconstitutional, in win for Republicans  —  The state's Democratic attorney general promised a swift appeal and insisted that the court's action won't have an immediate impact on elections this year  —  A Pennsylvania court struck …