Putin leaves a door to diplomacy open, as European, U.S. leaders race to defuse Ukraine crisis  —  MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday left the door open to further talks with Western leaders on his efforts to end NATO's open door policy, when his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov …

AOC bemoans ‘cancel culture’ that fired Marc Lamont Hill for ‘from the river to the sea’ comments  —  The commentator was let go from CNN following comments made at a United Nations event in 2018  —  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) defended former CNN commentator Marc Lamont Hill …

Snoop Dogg smokes weed right before star-studded Super Bowl 2022 halftime show  —  Before taking the stage for Sunday's epic Super Bowl 2022 halftime show, Snoop Dogg had something of a pregame warmup.  —  In a video currently making the rounds on social media, Snoop is seen smoking …

Of course they spied on Trump  —  OF COURSE THEY SPIED ON TRUMP.  One of the most contentious claims Donald Trump ever made was his insistence that he had been the target of spying.  He made the charge in several different ways.  For example, in March 2017, Trump, just two months in office, tweeted, “Terrible!

Why Covid-19 vaccines are a freaking miracle  —  Two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, it's easy to lament all that has come to pass.  The devastating losses.  The upending of what we regarded as normal ways of life.  The sheer relentlessness of it all.  —  But let's stop for a moment …

Hackers Just Leaked the Names of 92,000 ‘Freedom Convoy’ Donors  —  GiveSendGo, the Christian crowdfunding site that helped raise $8.7 million for the anti-vax “freedom convoy” in Canada, was hacked on Sunday night.  —  DG  —  The Christian crowdfunding site that helped raise $8.7 million for the anti-vax …

Trump's latest political obsession: The baseball team owner not toeing his line  —  Donald Trump has a new fixation: a Major League Baseball scion who hails from one of the country's richest families — and who, unlike most other Republican Senate candidates, isn't bowing to the former president.

The Right's Would-Be Kingmaker  —  Peter Thiel, one of Donald J. Trump's biggest donors in 2016, has re-emerged as a prime financier of the Make America Great Again movement.  —  Ryan Mac, who is based in Los Angeles, covers the intersection of technology and power.

A staunch conservative's urgent warning to the GOP about Trump and 2024  —  Donald Trump is telling us exactly how he intends to rerun his coup attempt, should the conditions align for it in 2024.  He regularly flaunts his view that attempting to overturn his 2020 loss was the correct thing to do …

Art Spiegelman Loses His Glasses  —  As the latest fight over Maus erupts, its artist-creator searches for his spectacles.  —  Okay, so here's the thing," Art Spiegelman says into the phone as he paces his cavernous Soho studio, humming with anxiety. “  I don't know what happened.

John Eastman claims attorney-client privilege over thousands of pages sought by Jan. 6 investigators  —  Attorney John Eastman, a close ally of Donald Trump amid his effort to subvert the 2020 election, has attempted to shield more than 10,000 pages of emails and counting from congressional investigators …

Yesterday I Was Levi's Brand President.  I Quit So I Could Be Free.  —  I turned down $1 million severance in exchange for my voice.  —  When I traveled to Moscow in 1986, I brought 10 pairs of Levi's 501s in my bag.  I was a 17-year-old gymnast, the reigning national champion …

How Democrats' New Maps Could Shape N.Y. Politics for Years to Come  —  Democrats could potentially expand the veto-proof majorities they already have in both the Assembly and Senate, further solidifying New York's leftward shift.  —  ALBANY, N.Y. — When Huge Ma, better known in New York as Vax Daddy …

Shots fired at Louisville mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg, police say  —  LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A person fired a gun at Louisville Democratic mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg in his office on Story Avenue on Monday morning, police say.  —  No one was injured, but an article of Greenberg's clothing was hit …

D.C. to drop coronavirus vaccination requirement to enter businesses … D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said Monday she is dropping the city's requirement that people show proof of coronavirus vaccination before entering many businesses in the city, as coronavirus transmission continues to trend downward throughout the region.

Ivan Reitman, producer, ‘Ghostbusters’ director, dies at 75  —  Ivan Reitman, the influential filmmaker and producer behind many of the most beloved comedies of the late 20th century, from “Animal House” to “Ghostbusters,” has died.  He was 75.  —  Reitman died peacefully in his sleep Saturday night …

The MAGA fixation with chaos overrides ‘America First’  —  Once upon a time, the Republican Party stressed social order, the rule of law and capitalism as a vehicle to deliver widespread prosperity.  More recently, the MAGA crowd insisted it wanted an “America First” policy.  Forget all that.

After 8 years, a retired Florida police captain will stand trial for killing a man in an argument about texting in a movie theater  —  (CNN)A 79-year-old man is finally expected to stand trial this week, eight years after he fatally shot a man who was texting in a Florida movie theater.

Democrats, Speak to Working-Class Discontent  —  It's the one way to mobilize Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians, not just white workers.  —  America is at a perilous moment when a Trump-led Republican Party is steaming ahead to knock down every guardrail protecting free elections.

Trump pushes back at those saying he's lost grip on GOP  —  Former President Trump is asserting his role as a Republican kingmaker, pushing back against claims from some corners of the GOP that his influence within the party is waning.  —  In a statement on Sunday, Trump insisted that the power …

Mr. President, It's Time for a Little Humility  —  Mr. Axelrod was the senior strategist on Barack Obama's 2008 campaign.  Later, as senior adviser to the president, he helped shape several presidential addresses to Congress.  —  Right now, the White House is gearing up for the president's first State of the Union address.