Ukraine, Russian-backed rebels accuse each other of shelling in Donbas region, where war has already simmered for years  —  Kyiv — Ukraine's military and the Russian-backed separatists it has battled for eight years in the country's eastern Donbas region both accused the other side of opening fire …

‘The brand is so toxic’: Dems fear extinction in rural US  —  SMETHPORT, Pa. (AP) — Some Democrats here in rural Pennsylvania are afraid to tell you they're Democrats.  —  The party's brand is so toxic in the small towns 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh that some liberals have removed bumper stickers …

GOP tensions boil over Trump's fundraising tactics  —  Donald Trump's spamming of Republican donors could kneecap party efforts to build a steady funding stream for future elections and compete with Democratic fundraising, top GOP officials are privately warning.

San Francisco is usually seen as a lefty outlier.  The school board recalls may make it a bellwether  —  San Francisco is so famous for its liberalism that the city has become shorthand for eccentric political sensibilities far to the left of most Americans.

Trump Makes New Claims About His Wealth After Accountants Drop Him  —  The former president has spent decades inventing facts and figures to suit his needs.  Now, dropped by his accountants, he is making new claims.  —  On Tuesday evening, former President Donald J. Trump …

In Leaked Audio, CDC's Rochelle Walensky Privately Confirms She Won't Relax School Mask Guidance  —  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have no plans to change their recommendation that all U.S. schools require students to wear masks, according to an audio recording …

Threats close Stella Luna Gelato Café after owner's name appears in GiveSendGo data leak  —  Tammy Giuliani says that she now regrets making her $250 donation.  —  Ottawa's Stella Luna Gelato Café was forced to close Tuesday after receiving threats when owner Tammy Giuliani's name appeared …

US Capitol attack panel discusses subpoena for Ivanka Trump  —  House select committee is considering best way to get evidence from ex-president's daughter about his efforts to cling to power  —  The House select committee investigating the Capitol attack is considering issuing a subpoena …

D.C. police lieutenant suspended over alleged ties to right-wing group  —  A D.C. police lieutenant in the intelligence branch has been put on leave amid an investigation into alleged improper contacts with a prominent member of the extremist group Proud Boys, according to four law enforcement officials with knowledge of the case.

‘My clients are going RINO hunting’: How the 2022 primaries will rewire the GOP  —  Evidence of the party's unrest is everywhere.  Nearly a half-dozen Republican governors alone are facing competitive primary challenges.  —  Republicans are embarking on a primary season that is poised …

Biden Keeps Blaming the Supply Chain for Inflation.  That's Dishonest.  —  Mr. Rattner served as counselor to the Treasury secretary in the Obama administration.  —  In an interview with Lester Holt of NBC last week, President Biden hewed closely to his talking points on inflation …

Jim Clyburn saved Biden's candidacy — and now has the president's ear on Supreme Court picks … Most nights when he's in Washington, House Majority Whip Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) sits down to dinner with Cedric L. Richmond, one of President Biden's closest advisers, at the members-only National Democratic Club.

Havana Syndrome and the Search for a Smoking Ray Gun  —  Science reporters have been rolling their eyes over their national security colleagues' reports of an invisible weapon attacking diplomats.  “Call the neurologist and not like, secret sources, you know, 'intelligence agencies assure …

Banks are moving to freeze accounts linked to convoy protests.  Here's what you need to know  —  Emergencies Act directs financial institutions to cut ties with some people  —  Using powers granted under the Emergencies Act, the federal government has directed banks and other financial institutions …

The “Big Sort” Continues, with Trump as a Driving Force  —  Dear Readers: UVA Center for Politics Director Larry J. Sabato recently interviewed Jonathan Karl of ABC News and Rep. Ro Khanna (D, CA-17) about, respectively, their new books Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show and Dignity in a Digital Age …

The Moral Danger of Declaring the Pandemic Over Too Soon  —  Dr. Gonsalves is an associate professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, a longtime AIDS activist and a 2018 MacArthur fellow.  —  The early 1990s were in many ways the most terrible of those first years of the AIDS epidemic in America.

Florida House passes ban on abortion after 15 weeks, sends bill to Senate … Florida's House of Representatives passed a bill to ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy late on Wednesday, a measure several Republican-led states are pushing as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs the constitutionality of such limits.

We asked all 143 Texas GOP congressional candidates about Biden's win.  Only 13 call it legitimate.  —  The debate had been underway for less than 10 minutes before the top Republican candidates in a MAGA-friendly Houston congressional district reached a consensus: each believed the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump.

Vulnerable to the Virus, High-Risk Americans Feel Pain as the U.S. Moves On  —  Transplant recipients, cancer patients and millions of other Americans with risk factors feel ignored and abandoned as their neighbors, and their government, seek a return to normal.  —  Denisse Takes's world is very small these days.

The regrettable death of the Slatepitch  —  We've lost a lot as every publication has become the same  —  Katie Robertson of the New York Times recently wrote about my former employer Slate and its “struggles to find identity and profit” in the modern world.

The MyPillow Guy Is Seriously Planning to Drop Pillows From the Sky Over Canada  —  PREPARE THE TEENY TINY PARACHUTES!  —  After his initial Tuesday shipment of MyPillow products was denied entry into Canada, Mike Lindell now has a backup plan to get free pillows to Canadian truckers: drop them from the sky via a helicopter.