Mark Meadows's coverup of Trump's coup attempt is falling apart  —  In his new book, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows offers up a version of Donald Trump's conduct on Jan. 6 that is almost comically sanitized.  In his telling, the rioters attacked the Capitol with …

No U.S. Troops Will Be Punished for Deadly Kabul Strike, Pentagon Chief Decides  —  The military initially defended the August strike, which killed 10 civilians including seven children, in the days afterward, but ultimately called it a tragic mistake.  —  WASHINGTON — None …

Elon Musk  —  SEE FULL LIST  —  The richest man in the world does not own a house and has recently been selling off his fortune.  He tosses satellites into orbit and harnesses the sun; he drives a car he created that uses no gas and barely needs a driver.  With a flick of his finger, the stock market soars or swoons.

Where I Live, No One Cares About COVID  —  In November, my wife asked me whether I had seen an article with the remarkable headline “Is It Safe to Go to Thanksgiving Dinner?”  —  “Is that from last year?”  I asked.  —  “No, it's a few days old,” she said, her voice sinking to a growling murmur.

Trump says Netanyahu “never wanted peace” with the Palestinians  —  This story comes from the new season of the “How it Happened” podcast.  Subscribe to listen to the whole story, including audio recordings of a never before-heard interview with Donald Trump.

The Real Hoax  —  “To see what is in front of one's nose,” George Orwell said, “needs a constant struggle.”  Among Donald Trump's many impressive talents is his gift for obscuring, occluding, and even inverting what is in front of America's nose.  —  Most notably, he has convinced tens …

Supreme Court won't stop vaccine mandate for N.Y. health care workers  —  The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stop New York's coronavirus vaccination mandate for health-care workers that does not include an exception for religious objectors.  —  As it has done in past mandate cases …

Factory workers threatened with firing if they left before tornado, employees say  —  MAYFIELD, Ky. — As a c atastrophic tornado approached this city on Friday, employees of a candle factory — which would later be destroyed — heard the warning sirens and wanted to leave the building.

Sen. Rand Paul tells Dan Bongino COVID-19 restrictions are really about ‘conditioning’ people to ‘submit to government’  —  Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, told conservative radio and television host Dan Bongino that restrictions intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are really about …

Alaska Senate candidate challenging Murkowski says she will not support McConnell as GOP leader  —  Kelly Tshibaka, a Republican challenging Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), says she will not support Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as GOP leader, the second Senate hopeful …

Key Wisconsin Republican says her colleagues are making baseless attacks and need to wrap up election review  —  MADISON — Republicans and Democrats alike Monday ripped into Wisconsin's partisan review of the 2020 election, saying it was a baseless exercise that would needlessly damage faith in democracy.

Vox Media, Group Nine Media in Advanced Talks to Merge  —  Stock deal would unite two of the biggest digital-media companies; Vox Media would get 75% ownership  —  Vox Media is in advanced talks to merge with Group Nine Media Inc., according to people familiar with the situation …

We rated every member of Congress on their financial conflicts.  Dozens of lawmakers and top staffers are violating their own rules designed to prevent corruption.  —  At least 48 lawmakers and 182 top aides have violated the STOCK Act, a federal conflict-of-interest law, Insider's analysis found.

America's Anti-Democratic Movement  —  It's making progress.  —  American politics these days can often seem fairly normal.  President Biden has had both big accomplishments and big setbacks in his first year, as is typical.  In Congress, members are haggling over bills and passing some of them.

Preservationists Want to Save Penn Station.  Yes, That Penn Station.  —  A bid to place New York City's most reviled structure on the National Register of Historic Places could delay long-planned station improvements.  —  In November, as one of her first major acts since taking office …

Chauvin expected to plead guilty in Floyd civil rights case  —  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin appears to be on the verge of pleading guilty to violating George Floyd 's civil rights, according to a notice from the court.

Alison Roman Just Can't Help Herself  —  A food-world star's method and mess. … Alison Roman approves of creamed greens, knobby lemons, and iceberg lettuce.  She's a slicer of onions, not a dicer; a “ride-or-die corner person” when it comes to lasagnas and cakes.  She doesn't sift flour, soak beans, or peel ginger.

Across the World, Covid Anxiety and Depression Take Hold  —  It is still unclear how much of a threat the fast-spreading Omicron variant poses, but fear and a sudden revival of restrictions have added to an epidemic of loneliness.  —  PARIS — A recent cartoon in the French daily Le Monde featured …

The American Jury System Holds Firm against ‘Wokeness’  —  The Jussie Smollett trial is only the latest instance in which jurors have done their duty diligently, without regard to race or politics.  —  sked to describe the discussions that yielded five “guilty” verdicts in the trial of Jussie Smollett …

USPS built and secretly tested a mobile voting system before 2020  —  Such systems are widely considered insecure against hacking  —  The U.S. Postal Service pursued a project to build and secretly test a blockchain-based mobile phone voting system before the 2020 election …

The Trump Officials Still Running Biden's Justice Department  —  Two senior career staffers continue to work in Attorney General Merrick Garland's office, and he's shown no signs of doing anything about it.  —  Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks at a news conference at the Justice Department, November 8, 2021.

Georgia Republican proposes eliminating ballot drop boxes ahead of 2022 elections  —  A leading Georgia legislator has introduced a bill that would eliminate absentee ballot drop boxes, a favored and highly-used tool last November that allowed voters to safely cast ballots during the coronavirus pandemic.