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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

‘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.

New York Times journalists, other workers on 24-hour strike  —  Hundreds of journalists and other employees at The New York Times began a 24-hour walkout Thursday, the first strike of its kind at the newspaper in more than 40 years.  Newsroom employees and other members of The NewsGuild …

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.

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)

Biden approval, views of economy steady, sour: AP-NORC poll  —  Fresh off his party's better-than-anticipated performance in the midterm elections, President Joe Biden is facing consistent but critical assessments of his leadership and the national economy.  A new poll from The Associated …

COVID could be DeSantis' secret weapon in 2024  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — should he run for the GOP's 2024 presidential nomination — has an opening to attack former President Trump's COVID response from the right. … - DeSantis has even said he wishes he'd been more vocal in speaking …

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 …

Transgender New Hampshire Dem in Jail on Stalking Charges  —  Stacie Laughton has falsely reported bomb threats, committed identity fraud as state rep  —  A transgender criminal who serves in the New Hampshire House of Representatives is in jail for stalking a woman, a third arrest for the Democrat lawmaker.

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 …

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.

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 …