How McConnell Hopes to Thwart Trump in the Midterms  —  Senator Mitch McConnell is working furiously to bring allies to Washington who will buck Donald J. Trump.  It's not going according to plan.  —  PHOENIX — For more than a year, former President Donald Trump has berated Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona …

Why the West's Diplomacy With Russia Keeps Failing  —  Oh, how I envy Liz Truss her opportunity!  Oh, how I regret her utter failure to make use of it!  For those who have never heard of her, Truss is the lightweight British foreign secretary who went to Moscow this week to tell her Russian counterpart …

Pelosi has stark warning for Putin: ‘He has to know that war is not an answer’  —  “There's very severe consequences to his aggression,” she said.  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had a stark warning for Russian President Vladimir Putin as the Russian military buildup near the Ukraine region showed no signs of slowing on Sunday.

Joe Rogan's use of the n-word is another January 6 moment  —  (CNN)The podcaster Joe Rogan did not join a mob that forced lawmakers to flee for their lives.  He never carried a Confederate flag inside the US Capitol rotunda.  No one died trying to stop him from using the n-word.

Jim Jordan Says Trump ‘Right On Target’ With Statement Suggesting Clinton Campaign Operatives Should be Executed  —  Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH) is concurring with a Donald Trump statement in which the former president suggests Democrat operatives tied to the Hillary Clinton 2016 campaign should have been executed.

The Seeds of Political Violence Are Being Sown in Church  —  The new insurrection is being organized, in a sanctuary near you.  —  On Thursday night in Castle Rock, Colorado, a group called “FEC United” (FEC stands for faith, education, and commerce) held a “town hall” …

Police arrest protesters who remained at US-Canada bridge  —  WINDSOR, Ontario (AP) — Police moved in to clear and arrest the remaining protesters near a key U.S.-Canadian border bridge early Sunday, trying to end a demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions that has hurt the economy …

Overdose Deaths in the United States Are Rising at a Troubling Rate  —  Overdoses are increasing at a troubling rate.  —  Drug overdoses now kill more than 100,000 Americans a year — more than vehicle crash and gun deaths combined.  —  Sean Blake was among those who died.

Inside the Bitcoin Laundering Case That Confounded the Internet  —  The arrests of Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan left the world of cryptocurrency incredulous: Could this goofy young couple have been Bitcoin's Bonnie and Clyde?  —  When anonymous hackers infiltrated …

Trump's unorthodox phone habits complicate January 6 investigation  —  (CNN)In Donald Trump's White House, telephones were a valued commodity.  The then-President loved to talk to everyone, said a former White House aide.  —  “He took everybody's calls,” the aide said …

America's richest companies are using the pandemic as an excuse to jack up prices … Larry Summers, the former US Treasury secretary and longtime Democratic economic advisor, has been adamant that the anticompetitive behavior of America's corporate cartels and monopolies is not a cause of the recent inflation surge.

Book: Donald Trump said Bill Belichick ‘chickened out’ in rejecting Freedom medal and they later made up at a golf course  —  A forthcoming book chronicling a turbulent 18-month snapshot of American politics will claim some new details surrounding one of the higher-profile rejections …