FBI director says COVID pandemic ‘most likely’ originated from Chinese lab … Christopher Wray: COVID-19 origins most likely caused by Chinese lab ‘incident’  —  FBI Director Christopher Wray said that the COVID-19 pandemic was likely caused by a lab leak in Wuhan, China.

Trump's February bump  —  Four new polls show former President Trump has received a boost in Republican support — with one survey showing him hitting 50% support in a crowded GOP field. … - His visit to the derailment site in East Palestine, Ohio — ahead of President Biden …

Former FBI general counsel says more lawsuits are probably coming for Fox News over election lies  —  In a conversation with Stephanie Ruhle on Monday, former FBI general counsel, Andrew Weissmann, suggested that “more” charges might be coming “on the criminal side” for Fox News.

The story behind Gaetz citing Chinese propaganda at a hearing  —  In 2021, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) decried what he labeled “a fusion of the interest of the Chinese Communist Party and much of the apparatus of the United States government.”  —  At a hearing Tuesday, Gaetz cited …

Lori Lightfoot becomes the first Chicago mayor in 40 years to lose re-election  —  CHICAGO — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost her bid for re-election Tuesday, ending her historic run as the city's first Black woman and first openly gay person to serve in the position.

Exposed: Fox's Pander-for-Profit Business Model  —  The Dominion lawsuit reveals how the network truckles for ratings.  —  Fox News loves to project bravado, but the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit shows how deeply threatened the network is by flimsy, fringe competitors …

Adams, Discussing Faith, Dismisses Idea of Separating Church and State  —  Mayor Eric Adams also suggested that banning organized public school prayer was a mistake, saying, “When we took prayers out of schools, guns came into schools.”  —  The annual interfaith breakfast hosted on Tuesday by Mayor Eric Adams began normally enough.

‘Sometimes Things Break’: Twitter Outages Are on the Rise  —  Elon Musk's repeated job cuts are stoking new fears that there aren't enough people to triage Twitter's problems.  —  After Elon Musk bought Twitter last year and eliminated thousands of its employees, many users were so alarmed …

US House Speaker McCarthy says he will provide Jan. 6 defendants with security footage  —  Republican U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Tuesday that he would provide defendants in criminal cases from the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol with access to thousands of hours of internal security footage of the melee.

The Bidens ordered the same dish at a restaurant.  Who does that?  —  Where and what presidents eat is an enduring fascination.  We love to scrutinize former president Donald Trump's ketchup-doused steaks or the Obamas' penchant for culinary hot spots.  —  And so when President Biden and his wife …

You probably won't get any student loan relief, thanks to a GOP-controlled Supreme Court  —  At the end of the day, the most important question in US law is which political party controls the Supreme Court.  —  If you were hoping that your student loans would be forgiven under a program …

Blaise Ingoglia bill would ‘cancel’ Democratic Party … Mike Wright  —  Mike Wright is a former reporter with the Citrus County Chronicle, where he had covered county government and politics since 1987.  Mike's skills as an investigative reporter earned him first-place awards in investigative writing.

Abbe Lowell Built Ties to Trump World.  Now He's One of Hunter Biden's Lawyers.  —  The shift by Mr. Lowell, one of Washington's best-known scandal lawyers, highlights the blurry lines between self-promotion, access to power and the right to legal representation.

Nigeria Declares Bola Tinubu Winner of Presidential Election: Live Updates  —  Here's the latest on the election in Nigeria.  —  Bola Tinubu, the governing party candidate and a perennial political kingmaker who campaigned on the slogan “It's my turn,” was named by election officials …

Hundreds massacred in Ethiopia even as peace deal was being reached  —  Soldiers from neighboring Eritrea went house to house killing villagers in Ethiopia's Tigray region, witnesses say  —  NAIROBI — Just days before a deal to end the war in Ethiopia's Tigray region …

Biden to tap Julie Su as next Labor secretary  —  President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that he would nominate Julie Su to be his next Labor secretary, moving swiftly to fill a coming vacancy within his cabinet.  —  “It is my honor to nominate Julie Su to be our country's next Secretary of Labor,” Biden said in a statement.

Georgia Republicans want to make it easier to challenge voters' eligibility  —  Georgia Republicans introduced legislation Tuesday making it easier to kick voters off the rolls through mass challenges, according to a copy of the bill sent to lawmakers and shared with NBC News by an aide to two of the bill's sponsors.

GOP Congressman Claimed He's an Economist.  He Took One Class—and Got a C.  —  ‘I WAS MISTAKEN’  —  Freshman Republican Rep. Andy Ogles (TN) says he's a trained economist, but in reality, he only took one community college course on the subject—and he got a C, a transcript obtained by NewsChannel 5 in Nashville revealed.

DeSantis' new memoir skips juicy details about his life that could emerge in a presidential bid.  Here's what he left out.  — DeSantis published his first memoir, “The Courage to Be Free,” on Tuesday  — The book is widely viewed as laying the groundwork for a presidential run.

As Americans Work From Home, Europeans and Asians Head Back to the Office  —  Return-to-office rates in Paris and Tokyo have climbed to over 75%, while U.S. often sits around half  —  While U.S. offices are half empty three years into the Covid-19 pandemic, workplaces in Europe and Asia are bustling again.

Deadly Collision of Passenger, Freight Trains Kills Dozens in Greece  —  TEMPE, Greece (AP) — A passenger train carrying hundreds of people collided at high speed with an oncoming freight train in a fiery wreck in northern Greece, killing 32 and injuring at least 85, officials said Wednesday.

West Virginia Adds to Election Deniers' Ongoing Takeover of State Politics  —  In January 2021, days after rallying outside the U.S. Capitol against legitimate presidential election results, West Virginia state Senator Mike Azinger said he hoped for an encore.

Government watchdog report finds FBI, Capitol Police identified but didn't share “credible threats” before Jan. 6  —  Federal agencies responsible for protecting the U.S. Capitol did not “fully process” or share critical information — including about militia groups arming themselves ahead of the Jan. 6 …

Iowa lawmakers propose a ban on same-sex marriage  —  Nearly eight years after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage and several months after Congress codified gay nuptials, Iowa lawmakers proposed banning such unions in their state constitution.  —  “In accordance with the laws …

Finland starts building fence on Russian border as MPs prepare to vote on Nato bid  —  Construction begins on fence along part of 1,340km boundary amid fears Moscow could weaponise mass migration against Helsinki  —  Finland has started construction of a fence along parts of its 1,340km …

President Joe Biden's $39 billion semiconductor project is open for business … Authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act last year, the Commerce Department opened the application process Tuesday for companies jockeying for a share of the funding.  This first round prioritizes applicants seeking …

Ron DeSantis shows how not to run an education system  —  It's no coincidence that Republican governors who have weaponized government against vulnerable populations represent states that are spectacularly failing their residents on a wide range of issues.  There's no better illustration than Ron DeSantis's war on education.

House Oversight Chair Laments That Joe Biden's Dead Son Was Never Prosecuted  —  Fuming that the Trump-appointed attorney probing Hunter Biden hasn't yet brought up charges, Comer then invoked Beau Biden and wondered why he wasn't indicted at some point.  —  House Oversight Committee Chairman …