Donald Trump and His Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad 3 Weeks  —  For the former president, who raced to announce his third run for the White House in hopes of clearing the Republican field, the losses, legal setbacks and embarrassments are rapidly piling up.

Brittney Griner released by Russia in 1-for-1 prisoner swap for arms dealer Viktor Bout  —  Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who was held for months in Russian prisons on drug charges, was released Thursday in a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout, CBS News learned early Thursday from a U.S. official.

Putin: Nuclear risk is rising, but we are not mad  —  Vladimir Putin has said the threat of a nuclear war was rising, but insisted Russia had not “gone mad” and would not use its nuclear weapons first.  —  The Russian president insisted that his country would only use weapons of mass destruction in response to an attack.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Is Under Investigation By House Ethics Committee  —  The House Committee on Ethics is investigating Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), according to a statement the panel issued on Wednesday.   —  The statement, which did not provide many details about the inquiry …

Florida Republican who sponsored 'Don't Say Gay' indicted on Covid relief fraud charges  —  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A federal grand jury indicted Republican Florida state Rep. Joe Harding on six counts after authorities said he illegally obtained $150,000 in pandemic-related small business loans …

Hello!  You've Been Referred Here Because You're Wrong About Twitter And Hunter Biden's Laptop  —  Hello!  Someone has referred you to this post because you've said something quite wrong about Twitter and how it handled something to do with Hunter Biden's laptop.

China Scraps Most Covid Testing, Quarantine Requirements in Policy Pivot  —  Latest measures target intrusive aspects of unpopular pandemic regime  —  China Announces Nationwide Loosening of Covid-19 Rules  —  Created with sketchtool.  —  1x  —  HONG KONG—China dropped many of its quarantine …

On That ProPublica ‘Chinese Lab Leak’ Story.  —  A talk with a longtime translator, on why Mandarin does not include a ‘super-secret version’ for discussing government plans.  —  This post is about China, and language, and how the press responds to criticism and handles its mistakes.

Peru's President Tried to Dissolve Congress.  By Day's End, He Was Arrested.  —  Ahead of an impeachment vote by Congress, Pedro Castillo tried to dissolve the government and seize power.  The attempt ended with his ouster and arrest.  —  LIMA, Peru — It was a day on which much of Peru …

‘These F*cking People’: Barstool Star and Fox News Regular Caught on Hot Mic Destroying Network, Its Audience, and Tucker  —  Barstool Sports star Francis Ellis has appeared multiple times on Fox News, particularly on the 7 p.m. show hosted by Jesse Watters.

Off-duty FBI agent fatally shoots person at Metro Center, police say  —  The shooting on a Red Line platform during the typically busy commute prompted delays and brief panic  —  An off-duty FBI agent fatally shot a man Wednesday evening during an altercation on a Red Line train platform at the Metro Center station, D.C. police said.

The secret lives of MI6's top female spies … My journey to the school for spies starts in the half-light of a waking city.  I do not know where I am going and have only been instructed to meet my contact at a central London landmark.  We travel by car, boat and train to a place where officers …

Apple Plans New Encryption System to Ward Off Hackers and Protect iCloud Data  —  ‘Advanced Data Protection’ will offer end-to-end encryption on iCloud backups, Notes, Photos and other services—a step that may draw ire from law enforcement  —  How Apple's New iCloud Encryption Protects You From Attacks (Exclusive)

Rollback of covid vaccine mandate met with furor at Pentagon  —  Military officials warned that the Republican-led initiative risks harming troops' readiness and endangering national security  —  The Biden administration fumed Wednesday at the near-certainty that Congress will strip away …

It's official: Kari Lake, Kelli Ward and the Arizona GOP have lost their minds  —  Opinion: The increasingly delusional Arizona Republican Party wants Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs to be investigated for ‘suppressing free speech.’ But its ‘bombshell’ doesn't even rate as a small fizzle.

12/8/22 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM … HE HAS FOUR REPUBLICANS WHO ARE PUBLICLY VOWING TO VOTE AGAINST HIM.  UNDER MOST SCENARIOS, HE COULD ONLY AFFORD TO LOSE FOUR REPUBLICANS AND STILL BECOME SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE ON JAN. 3. … MCCARTHY HAS FAVORS TO DOLE OUT …

Jan. 6 panel eyeing Dec. 21 to release final report, chairman says  —  The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol is planning to release its final report on Dec. 21, panel Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told reporters on Wednesday.