Betty White Dead at 99  —  EXCLUSIVE  — 987.9K … 12:32 PM PT — The beginnings of a makeshift memorial outside Betty's house are underway.  —  One fan has already stopped by to place flowers under a tree at the gate, and pay their respects.  —  11:44 AM PT — A source close …

Ron DeSantis accompanied wife to cancer treatment while critics claimed he was ‘missing’  —  DeSantis announced his wife's breast cancer diagnosis in October  —  Florida Democrats blame DeSantis for COVID surge  —  Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis accompanied his wife to her cancer treatment …

FDIC's GOP chair to resign after partisan brawl  —  Jelena McWilliams on Friday unexpectedly submitted her resignation.  —  Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Jelena McWilliams on Friday unexpectedly submitted her resignation after the Trump appointee faced partisan strife at the bank regulator …

Top-Down Letdown  —  How elites failed us in 2021.  —  Dear Reader (and all the strange voices in my head),  —  I finally got COVID.  I assume it was Omicron, but who knows?  Whatever variant it was, it wasn't fun.  Since odds are good everybody everywhere is going to get it, I'll spare you the detailed reporting from my sickbed.

Omicron Doesn't Infect the Lungs Very Well, Animal Studies Find  —  Compared with earlier variants, Omicron may cause less damage to the lungs, new animal research suggests.  —  A spate of new studies on lab animals and human tissues are providing a possible explanation …

‘Crazy’ omicron surge could peak soon, but the virus is unpredictable as the pandemic enters its third year  —  Columbia University researchers estimate infections could top out during the week of Jan. 9  —  The rapid surge of omicron infections in the United States may be relatively brief …

Retired general warns the U.S. military could lead a coup after the 2024 election  —  As the anniversary of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol approaches, three retired U.S. generals have warned that another insurrection could occur after the 2024 presidential election and the military could instigate it.

China harvests masses of data on Western targets, documents show  —  China is turning a major part of its internal Internet data surveillance network outward, mining Western social media, including Facebook and Twitter, to equip its government agencies, military and police with information on foreign targets …

Ted Cruz's daughter takes to TikTok to discuss life as senator's kid  —  Answering questions from followers on TikTok, she discusses the pros and cons of being a senator's daughter.  —  Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz found himself in a predicament this week that would make any parent working …

Louisiana Judge Michelle Odinet Resigns Over Shocking Racial Slur Video  —  QUITTING TIME  —  A Louisiana judge has resigned weeks after footage from her home appeared to show her repeatedly using the N-word and comparing a burglary suspect to a “roach.”  Michelle Odinet was Lafayette City …

Governor Abbott, TDEM, DSHS Request Federally-Supported COVID-19 Testing Sites, Medical Personnel, Increased Monoclonal Antibody Allocations  —  Governor Greg Abbott announced today that the State of Texas, through the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) and the Texas Department …

A year after a seditious insurrection, why won't federal prosecutors treat it that way?  —  History is full of examples where other uprisings have resulted in charges of sedition conspiracy and insurrection, something that — despite ample video evidence and the admissions of those involved — hasn't happened here.

Joe Biden's Year of Hoping Dangerously  —  It was a brutal start for the new President.  —  The best thing you can say about 2021 is that it will soon be over.  A year that started with an insurrection at the Capitol is ending with more than eight hundred thousand Americans dead in the covid pandemic …

Biden plans to reaffirm support for Ukraine in call Zelenskyy on Sunday  —  President Joe Biden plans to speak by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday to reaffirm U.S. support for the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the White House told reporters on Friday.

POLITICO Playbook: Meet the GOP's new national security power broker  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  TIME TO GIVE UP?  — Every year, one of us makes a resolution to stop biting her nails.  It never happens.  According to CBS, the percentage of Americans making resolutions this year dropped 14 points.

New York is Using Race to Determine Access to a Limited Supply of Life-Saving COVID Treatments  —  The rationale for prioritizing some races over others for access to COVID medications crumbles upon close examination.  —  “Monoclonal Antibody Treatments Save Lives,” announced …