Biden: Killing of al-Qaida leader is long-sought ‘justice’  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced Monday that al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Kabul, an operation he said delivered justice and hopefully “one more measure of closure” …

Manchin-Schumer side agreement would overhaul environmental review  —  The deal would also approve a West Virginia gas pipeline.  The West Virginia senator and Democratic leaders forged a separate deal to expand energy infrastructure that would have to be voted on outside the party's energy package

Senate GOP backtracks after veterans bill firestorm  —  Senate Republicans are reversing course on a veterans health care bill, signaling they'll now help it quickly move to President Joe Biden's desk after weathering several days of intense criticism for delaying the legislation last week.

Trump endorses ‘ERIC’ in Missouri primary, a name shared by rivals  —  The former president's unusual endorsement added uncertainty to an already tumultuous race  —  POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — The Republicans competing for the U.S. Senate nomination in Tuesday's primary here spent their final …

EXCLUSIVE: Cassidy Hutchinson kept working for Donald Trump for nine weeks after he left the White House, government records show  — Insider sued the Biden administration for records identifying Trump's post-presidency staff members.  — Cassidy Hutchinson kept working for Trump …

Pelosi expected to visit Taiwan, Taiwanese and US officials say  —  , Iraq, denouncing the nomination of Mohammed Shiya al-Sudani for the position of prime minister.  CNN's Nada Bashir reports.  —  ' data-duration="01:51" data-source="CNN" data-affiliate-source-link="https:// www.cnn.com" …

Capitol rioter Guy Reffitt gets longest Jan. 6 sentence, but no terrorism enhancement  —  WASHINGTON — A Donald Trump fan from Texas who attempted to storm the U.S. Capitol while armed with a gun was sentenced to more than 7 years in prison on Monday after a judge denied the Justice Department's request …

Democrats have joined Republicans in calling their opponents ‘enemies’  —  The idea behind democracy is, in part, that differences get resolved through consensus.  That instead of brawling over resources, we have a process for allocating power and assets that depends solely on the public will.

Why I Won't Vote to Add Sweden and Finland to NATO … The Senate will soon vote on adding Sweden and Finland to NATO.  According to the terms of NATO's founding treaty, that means the United States would be obliged to defend both countries in the event of a military attack.  I intend to vote no.

Trump Supporters Think They're in a Fight to the Death  —  For all the defects Donald Trump has as a politician, he does possess certain skills, among them an almost preternatural ability to tap into the sensibilities—the id—of the American right.  More than any other Republican candidate in 2016 …

Arizona AG says most alleged 2020 dead voters were alive  —  PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said Monday his investigators found just one dead voter after thoroughly reviewing findings from a partisan review of the 2020 election that alleged 282 ballots were cast in the name of someone who had died.

Abortion bans violate religious freedom, clergy say in new legal campaign  —  When the Rev. Laurie Hafner ministers to her Florida congregants about abortion, she looks to the founding values of the United Church of Christ, her lifelong denomination: religious freedom and freedom of thought.

Vast New Study Shows a Key to Reducing Poverty: More Friendships Between Rich and Poor  —  Over the last four decades, the financial circumstances into which children have been born have increasingly determined where they have ended up as adults.  But an expansive new study …

Abortion Moves Up on “Most Important Problem” List  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — When Americans are asked to name the most important problem facing the U.S., 8% of the resulting mentions focus on abortion.  While not high on an absolute basis, this is the highest such percentage since Gallup began tracking mentions of abortion in 1984.

The cautious calculation behind whether Fox will dump Trump  —  The symbiotic, mutually advantageous bond between Rupert Murdoch's media empire and Donald Trump has often been described as a romance or a love fest.  —  Now that the relationship looks as if it may be headed to divorce court …

Lawyer: Sandy Hook parents isolate with security due to safety concerns during Texas Alex Jones trial  —  AUSTIN, Texas — Sandy Hook parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis have gone into isolation with an around-the-clock security detail following an unspecified number of “encounters” …

Nicholas Kristof Returns to The Times  —  The journalist who first started here in 1984 and began writing columns for us in 2001 returns to Times Opinion.  Read more in this note from Opinion Editor Kathleen Kingsbury.  —  In his “farewell” column before running for governor of Oregon …

The Bill Russell I Knew for 60 Years  —  Since I was 14, Bill Russell showed me how to be a better player—and a better man.  —  When I learned that my friend Bill Russell had died, I tweeted this response: “Bill Russell was the quintessential Big Man—not because of his height but because of the size of his heart.

She Traveled 200 Miles for an Abortion She Never Wanted  —  Madison Underwood was thrilled to learn she was pregnant.  But when a rare defect in the developing fetus threatened her life, she was thrust into post-Roe chaos.  —  CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Madison Underwood was lying on the ultrasound table …

Senators unveil bipartisan abortion access bill; measure unlikely to pass  —  A bipartisan group of senators has unveiled compromise legislation to guarantee federal access to abortion, an effort to codify abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Misleading text urges ‘yes’ vote in Kansas to ‘give women a choice.’ Source is unknown  —  An anonymous group is sending a misleading text to Kansas voters telling them to “vote yes” in order to protect choice.  —  “Women in KS are losing their choice on reproductive rights.

Arizona Republicans Should Reject Kari Lake  —  Lake is a conspiracist; opponent Karrin Taylor Robson is a rational conservative.  —  CULTURE  —  Silence Is Okay, Actually  —  By NATE HOCHMAN  —  Not everything is oppression.  —  CULTURE  —  Nichelle Nichols, R.I.P.  —  By JACK BUTLER