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China relaxes some virus rules, biggest easing of zero-COVID policy

Residents wait in line for their routine COVID-19 test at a coronavirus testing site although authorities start easing some of the anti-virus controls in Beijing, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022. China has announced new measures rolling back COVID-19 restrictions, including limiting lockdowns and testing requirements. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

By Tom Howell Jr. - The Washington Times

China eased some of its most stringent anti-virus policies on Wednesday in the clearest pivot from “zero-COVID” policies that sparked uncommon public protests in recent weeks.

Classroom, desks, chalkboard. (Photo credit: miya227 via Shutterstock) ** FILE **

Loudoun County school superintendent fired after report says he failed to address sex assault cases

By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., center, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., right, and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., left speak during a news conference with members of Senate Democratic leadership, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Schumer working only with ‘non-MAGA Republicans’ after Warnock win

By Ramsey Touchberry - The Washington Times

Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition on March 9, 2020, in Washington. Musk, Twitter’s new owner, is further gutting the teams that battle misinformation on the social media platform as outsourced moderators learned over the weekend they were out of a job. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Musk fires Twitter lawyer who blocked Hunter Biden laptop story

By Susan Ferrechio and Victor Morton - The Washington Times

More Top News

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Youngkin seeks to end COVID-19 fines, reimburse Virginians

Trump's budget chief offers plan to defund Biden's 'woke' agenda

End of an era: Last 747 jumbo jet rolls off Boeing assembly line

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New TikTok restrictions spreading in states as feds stall decision on crackdown

By Ryan Lovelace - The Washington Times 26 minutes ago

In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen is briefed during a visit to a naval station on Penghu, an archipelago of several dozen islands off Taiwan's western coast on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022. On Sept. 2, 2022, President Biden approved the largest arms sale to Taiwan under his administration, as tensions continue to heighten between the United States and China. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)

Congress includes $10B in defense budget for Taiwan to stave off China’s designs on island democracy

By Joseph Clark - The Washington Times

In this photo released by the Saudi Royal Palace, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, right, welcomes U.S. President Joe Biden to Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 15, 2022. A federal judge dismissed a U.S. lawsuit against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Saudi killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, bowing to the Biden administration's insistence that the prince was legally immune in the case. (Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP) **FILE**

U.S. judge dismisses lawsuit against Saudi crown prince

By Tom Howell Jr. - The Washington Times

Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin greets supporters at the end of a campaign rally on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, in Westchester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Lee Zeldin passes on run for RNC chair, urges Ronna McDaniel to step aside for new leadership

By Kerry Picket - The Washington Times

Culture

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This image provided by Judy A. Steiner shows handmade watercolor Christmas tree cards. Handmade holiday cards can be gifts in themselves for both maker and receiver. They're a way to express creativity and connection. And gathering to make them can be a nice social activity. (Judy A. Steiner via AP)

Handmade holiday cards are gifts in themselves; some tips

By Katherine Roth - Associated Press

A U.S Navy photograph documenting the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii which initiated US participation in World War II. Navy's caption: The battleship USS Arizona is sinking after being hit by Japanese air attack on Dec. 7,1941. (U.S. Navy)

Yes, Remember Pearl Harbor, even 81 years later

By Jennifer Harper - The Washington Times

A woman holds up a sign while taking part in a demonstration about the use of robots by the San Francisco Police Department outside of City Hall in San Francisco, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. The unabashedly liberal city of San Francisco became the unlikely proponent of weaponized police robots this week after supervisors approved limited use of the remote-controlled devices, addressing head-on an evolving technology that has become more widely available even if it is rarely deployed to confront suspects. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

San Francisco supervisors shoot down use of deadly police robots

Associated Press

In this Nov. 10, 2014 file photo, James Toback, screenwriter of the original "The Gambler" and executive producer of the new re-make arrives at the premiere of the film at AFI Fest 2014 in Los Angeles. Los Angeles prosecutors are declining to bring criminal charges against Toback in five investigations it has reviewed. The Oscar-nominated writer-director has been accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women. Documents released Monday, April 9, 2018, by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office state the statute of limitations in all of the cases had expired. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

38 women accuse director James Toback of sexual misconduct in lawsuit

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White House Watch

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President Joe Biden waves as he boards Air Force One, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Biden is traveling to Arizona to visit the building site for a new computer chip plant and speak about his economic agenda.(AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

Biden says border chaos isn’t ‘important’ enough to make visit

By Jeff Mordock and Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times

U.S. President Joe Biden, right, stands with Chinese President Xi Jinping before a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, in Bali, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Biden administration approves $425 million in arms sales to Taiwan

Associated Press

President Joe Biden speaks about abortion access during a Democratic National Committee event at the Howard Theatre, Oct. 18, 2022, in Washington. The Biden administration is still actively searching for ways to safeguard abortion access for millions of women, even as it bumps up against a complex web of strict new state laws enacted in the months after the Supreme Court stripped the constitutional right. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Biden will make 2024 decision over holidays, says chief of staff

By Jeff Mordock - The Washington Times

President Joe Biden speaks before signing H.J.Res.100, a bill that aims to avert a freight rail strike, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, Friday, Dec. 2, 2022, in Washington. The measure passed Thursday by the Senate and Wednesday by the House binds rail companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached between the rail companies and union leaders in September. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Biden’s efforts to protect abortion access hit roadblocks

By Amanda Seitz and Colleen Long - Associated Press

Politics

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A person holds up a sign that reads "Hands Off Our State Courts!" in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022, as the Court hears arguments on a new elections case that could dramatically alter voting in 2024 and beyond. The case is from highly competitive North Carolina, where Republican efforts to draw congressional districts heavily in their favor were blocked by a Democratic majority on the state Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Supreme Court justices skeptical of unchecked state power over federal elections

By Alex Swoyer and Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times

New TikTok restrictions spreading in states as feds stall decision on crackdown 26 minutes ago

By Ryan Lovelace - The Washington Times

In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen is briefed during a visit to a naval station on Penghu, an archipelago of several dozen islands off Taiwan's western coast on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022. On Sept. 2, 2022, President Biden approved the largest arms sale to Taiwan under his administration, as tensions continue to heighten between the United States and China. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)

Congress includes $10B in defense budget for Taiwan to stave off China’s designs on island democracy

By Joseph Clark - The Washington Times

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., center, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., right, and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., left speak during a news conference with members of Senate Democratic leadership, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Schumer working only with ‘non-MAGA Republicans’ after Warnock win

By Ramsey Touchberry - The Washington Times

Dive Deeper

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

McCarthy starts to play hardball with GOP rebels struggling to find opposing House speaker candidate

Boxes of the drug mifepristone line a shelf at the West Alabama Women's Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on March 16, 2022. Abortion opponents who helped challenge Roe v. Wade filed a lawsuit Friday, Nov. 18, 2022 that takes aim at medication abortions, asking a federal judge in Texas to undo decades-old approval of the preferred method of ending pregnancy in the U.S. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed, File)

Study finds chemical abortions leading 2017-2020 increases in U.S.

In this Feb. 9, 2021, photo provided by the Department of Defense, Hickam 15th Medical Group hosts the first COVID-19 mass vaccination on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. By the thousands, U.S. service members are refusing or putting off the COVID-19 vaccine, as frustrated commanders scramble to knock down internet rumors and find the right pitch that will convince troops to take the shot. Some Army units are seeing as few as a third agree to the vaccine, others are higher. (U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Anthony Nelson Jr./Department of Defense via AP) ** FILE **

Democrats join Republicans in move to repeal military’s vaccine mandate

Hunter Biden arrives in the East Room before President Joe Biden speaks awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to 17 people at the White House in Washington, July 7, 2022. Come next year, Republicans have made clear, the January 6th select committee will be no more. Investigations into the president’s son, Hunter Biden, will quickly begin. And GOP priorities like border security, parents’ rights and defunding the IRS will be on fast tracks to the House floor. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) **FILE**

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Musk’s ‘Twitter Files’ reveal Biden camp leaned on the company to block Hunter Biden story

National

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This image provided by Judy A. Steiner shows handmade watercolor Christmas tree cards. Handmade holiday cards can be gifts in themselves for both maker and receiver. They're a way to express creativity and connection. And gathering to make them can be a nice social activity. (Judy A. Steiner via AP)

Handmade holiday cards are gifts in themselves; some tips

By Katherine Roth - Associated Press

In this Dec. 12, 2016, photo, a person searches the internet for sales, in Miami. Days after flocking to stores on Black Friday, consumers are turning online for Cyber Monday to score more discounts on gifts and other items that have ballooned in price because of high inflation. Adobe Analytics, which tracks transactions for top online retailers, forecasts Cyber Monday will remain the year’s biggest online shopping day and rake in up to $11.6 billion in sales. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Most Americans will spend under $500 this Christmas to offset inflation, consumer survey indicates

By Sean Salai - The Washington Times

Visitors passing an advertisement for the video game 'Call of Duty' at the Gamescom fair for computer games in Cologne, Germany, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017. Microsoft says it struck a deal to make the hit video game Call of Duty available on Nintendo for 10 years when its $69 billion purchase of game maker Activision Blizzard goes through. The announcement Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022 is an apparent attempt to fend off objections from rival Sony. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

Microsoft’s ‘Call of Duty’ to be on Nintendo consoles for 10 years if Activision acquisition clears

By Brad Matthews - The Washington Times

Cattle run toward feed on Tim Black's Muleshoe, Texas, farm on Monday, April 19, 2021. Black, a longtime corn farmer, now raises cattle and plants on some of his pasture in wheat and native grasses because the Ogallala Aquifer, needed to irrigate crops, is drying up. (AP Photo/Mark Rogers)

Texas drought, early slaughters contribute to looming beef shortage

By Matt Delaney - The Washington Times

World

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A Taliban fighter stands guard at the site of an explosion in front of a school in Kabul, Afghanistan, on April 19, 2022. It was one of several deadly explosions that have targeted educational institutions in Afghanistan's capital. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) **FILE**

Taliban carry out first public execution since coming to power in Afghanistan

By Matt Delaney - The Washington Times

British Airways planes parked at Terminal 5 Heathrow airport in London, Wednesday, March 18, 2020. British travelers going abroad for the Easter holidays faced disruptions Monday, April 4, 2022 as two main carriers, British Airways and easyJet, canceled dozens of flights due to staff shortages related to soaring cases of COVID-19 in the U.K. Budget carrier easyJet grounded 62 flights scheduled for Monday after canceling at least 222 flights over the weekend. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

European passengers soon can fully use phones on flights

By Brad Matthews - The Washington Times

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak departs 10 Downing Street to go to the House of Commons for the weekly Prime Minister's Questions in London, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

U.K. airport staff plan Christmas walkout, joining strike wave

By Jill Lawless - Associated Press

Ukrainian soldiers fire French MO-120-RT-61 120 mm rifled towed mortar at Russian positions in the frontline near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/LIBKOS)

U.S. isn’t helping Ukraine hit targets inside Russia, officials say

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

Sports

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New York Yankees' Aaron Judge watches his solo home run ball during the second inning of Game 5 of an American League Division baseball series against the Cleveland Guardians, Oct. 18, 2022, in New York. Judge has agreed to return to the Yankees on a $360 million, nine-year contract, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022 because the deal had not been announced. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, file)

Reports: Yankees sign Aaron Judge to $360 million contract

By Jacob Calvin Meyer - The Washington Times

Wisconsin's Tyler Wahl (5) looks to pass the ball as Maryland's Donta Scott (24) defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)

Wisconsin hands No. 13 Maryland its first loss, 64-59

By Jim Hoehn - Associated Press

Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) in action during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

With Bradley Beal sidelined, Wizards look to find way out of slump

By Jacob Calvin Meyer - The Washington Times

WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis poses for a staredown with challenger Hector Luis Garcia ahead of a Jan. 7 fight at Capital One Area (photo courtesy of Amanda Wescott/Showtime)

Gervonta Davis’ return to the District also comes with a risk

By Matthew Paras - The Washington Times

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In this photo released by the Saudi Royal Palace, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, right, welcomes U.S. President Joe Biden to Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 15, 2022. A federal judge dismissed a U.S. lawsuit against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Saudi killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, bowing to the Biden administration's insistence that the prince was legally immune in the case. (Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP) **FILE**

U.S. judge dismisses lawsuit against Saudi crown prince

By Tom Howell Jr. - The Washington Times

Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin greets supporters at the end of a campaign rally on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, in Westchester, N.Y. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Lee Zeldin passes on run for RNC chair, urges Ronna McDaniel to step aside for new leadership

By Kerry Picket - The Washington Times

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office and posted on Facebook, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seen during his visit to Kherson, Ukraine, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. Amid the death and destruction war leaves in its wake, there are powerful dynamics and narratives: domination, besieged populations, occupation and their counterparts, resistance, freedom and liberation. Vast swaths of Western and Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union knew this well at various points of the 20th century. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP, File)

Time magazine names Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ‘Person of the Year’

By Tom Howell Jr. - The Washington Times

A video of then-President Donald Trump speaking is displayed as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022. In an extraordinary step, the House Jan. 6 committee on Thursday voted to subpoena former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Trump lawyers will ask an appeals court to shield him from Jan. 6 lawsuits

By Tom Howell Jr. - The Washington Times

President Joe Biden waves as he boards Air Force One, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Biden is traveling to Arizona to visit the building site for a new computer chip plant and speak about his economic agenda.(AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

Biden says border chaos isn’t ‘important’ enough to make visit

By Jeff Mordock and Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times

In this photo released by the U.S. Navy, the destroyer USS Shaw explodes after being hit by bombs during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, December 7, 1941. A few centenarian survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor are expected to gather at the scene of the Japanese bombing on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022, to remember those who perished 81 years ago. (U.S. Navy via AP)

Hawaii remembrance to draw handful of Pearl Harbor survivors

By Audrey McAvoy - Associated Press

Ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks during a hearing with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, on Capitol Hill, Thursday, April 28, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) ** FILE **

ATF wants to destroy guns from botched Obama-era Fast and Furious operation

By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times

Former President Donald Trump announces a third run for president as he speaks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Nov. 15, 2022. Jurors in the Trump Organization’s criminal tax fraud deliberated for a second day Tuesday, Dec. 6, weighing charges that Trump’s company helped executives dodge personal income taxes on perks such as Manhattan apartments and luxury cars. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

Trump Organization convicted in executive tax dodge scheme

By Michael R. Sisak - Associated Press

Firearms are displayed at a gun shop in Salem, Ore., on Feb. 19, 2021. A federal judge in Portland, Ore., ruled Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, that a new voter-passed ban on high-capacity gun magazines can go into effect Thursday, Dec. 8, but placed a 30-day hold on a permit-to-purchase requirement after local and state law enforcement agencies said they could not have a permitting system ready in time. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky, File)

State judge places hold on Oregon’s gun law

By Gillian Flaccus and Lindsasy Whitehurst - Associated Press

Sarah Matthews, former White House deputy press secretary, bottom left, and Matt Pottinger, former deputy national security adviser, are sworn in, as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, July 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

House Jan. 6 Committee to refer criminal charges to Justice Department

By Joseph Clark - The Washington Times