Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Sunday that Republican lawmakers who criticize him are "criticizing science, because I represent science."
Why it matters: Appearing on CBS' "Face the Nation," Fauci added that such attacks are dangerous because "if you damage science, you are doing something very detrimental to society."
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot will likely decide this week whether to hold former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in contempt for failing to appear before the panel, Rep. Adam Schiff told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday.
Catch up quick: Meadows is believed to have insight into former President Trump's role in efforts to stop the certification of President Biden's election win.
The big picture: Police have identified Darrell Brooks as the alleged driver of an SUV that plowed into a crowd gathered at a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, killing six and leaving more than 60 injured.
National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins on Sunday said that while much is still unknown about the Omicron coronavirus variant, "there's no reason to panic" yet but more data is needed.
Why it matters: Collins' remarks on CNN's "State of the Union" come amid a broader discussion of how the new strain, first identified in South Africa, will impact the pandemic and how to curb its spread.
As supply-chain kinks drive up prices and disrupt holiday shopping, Democrats are scrambling to show action and deflect blame.
Why it matters: With their party controlling both the White House and Capitol, vulnerable Democrats worry supply-chain snafus will hurt them in next year's midterms.
The German government has urged members of Congress not to sanction the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, arguing that doing so will "weaken" U.S. credibility and "ultimately damage transatlantic unity," according to documents obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: At a time when roughly 100,000 Russian troops are massing at its border, Ukraine views Nord Stream 2 as an existential threat to its security. The pipeline would circumvent Ukrainian transit infrastructure and deliver Russian gas directly to Germany, eliminating one of the last deterrents Ukraine has against an invasion.
Direct cash giving — channeling donations to charities that dispense money, rather than goods or services — is emerging as the gold standard in anti-poverty philanthropy.
Why it matters: Giving Tuesday is this week, and the money donated that day can do the most good when it goes as directly as possible to those in the most need.
A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked an order requiring all California prison workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine or have a religious or medical exemption.
Driving the news: The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday approved a request for a stay of the order pending appeal. The vaccination mandate was set to go into effect by Jan. 12, but the stay blocks enforcement until March, AP reports.
Bob Woodward and Robert Costa issued a rebuttal on Friday to a statement by former President Donald Trump that misrepresented their reporting — and once again showed the 45th president's thin skin about mainstream media.
Driving the news: "Former President Trump said ... our book, 'Peril,' implied that he was planning to go to war with China," the statement begins. "[W]e report that Chairman of Joint Chiefs Mark Milley 'believed that Trump did not want a war' before or after the 2020 election."
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday declared a state of emergency amid rising COVID-19 cases and the newly identified Omicron variant of the virus.
Driving the news: The declaration enables the state to acquire supplies to fight a potential surge in cases, increase hospital capacity and combat potential staff shortages, NBC's local affiliate reports.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) apologized Friday for suggesting in a video that emerged this week that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) was mistaken for a terrorist while riding in an elevator in the U.S. Capitol.
Driving the news: Omarresponded to the video when it first emerged, writing on Twitter: "Anti-Muslim bigotry isn’t funny & shouldn’t be normalized. Congress can’t be a place where hateful and dangerous Muslims tropes get no condemnation."
Josephine Baker, the late American-born singer and entertainer who fought with the French Resistance during World War II, will receive one ofFrance's highest civilian honors on Nov. 30 as the first Black woman to be buried in Paris' Pantheon.
Why it matters: Activists are using her reinterment to raise awareness about the global celebrity and civil rights activist, who died in 1975. She was one of two women to speak at the 1963 March on Washington — but in recent decades has largely been forgotten in the U.S.
