In an interview with on CBS News’ Face The Nation, Birx spoke about the challenges she faced while working with the Trump White House on combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. “There were people who definitely believed that this was a hoax,” Birx, the former coordinator of the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force, told Margaret Brennan when asked if there were coronavirus deniers in the Trump White House. Pressed on why, Birx said: “I think because the information was confusing at the beginning, I think because we didn’t talk about the spectrum of disease… they saw people get COVID and be fine, and then they had us talking about how severe the disease is and how it could cause these unbelievable fatalities of our American public....

On Day One – Jan. 4 – the contract promises votes on key House-keeping reforms like term limits for committee chairs. GOP leaders expect the balanced-budget amendment to be voted on Jan. 19. In February comes a vote on reforming unfunded mandates (making states do things without giving them the money) and then the line-item veto. Term limits and defense are due in late February or March. The most contentious issues – welfare reform and tax cuts – will be put off until April....

The 24-year-old defenseman signed an eight-year contract extension with the Jets, the club announced Thursday. Morrissey’s new deal is worth $50 million, meaning the contract will carry a $6.25 million average annual value over its duration. With a full season still to play under his current contract, Morrissey is committed to the Jets through the 2027-28 season. Drafted 13th overall by the Jets in 2013, Morrissey set career highs in assists (25), points (31) and minutes per game (22:24) in 2018-19 despite only playing 59 games....

Manchester City’s Delph has ended the season as a Premier League champion after impressing at left-back for large parts of the campaign after an injury to Benjamin Mendy. Delph can also play in midfield and his versatility will bode well for his England chances after being happy with his form this season. “I’m itching to get on that plane, I’ve had a good season and I’ve shocked a few people,” he told BBC Sport....

Robert Knodell, acting director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said the number of vaccinations is on the rise, but Missouri continues to trail behind other states in vaccination rates. Missouri’s COVID-19 dashboard shows about 49.4 percent of the population have received at least one shot, which is nearly 10 percentage points below the national average. Rates are even lower in rural areas, with 14 counties seeing fewer than 25 percent of residents getting vaccinated....

The Eagles running back played a season-low 14 snaps and finished the game third on the team in rushing with just 24 yards, as coach Chip Kelly cut significantly into his playing time. IYER: Go all in on Eagles winning East | MORE: Shockers of Week 13 Fellow running back Darren Sproles played 35 snaps and led the team with 66 yards, while Kenjon Barner, Kelly’s former rusher at Oregon, played 12 snaps and had 39 yards....

The initial €105 million signing picked up the problem as he tried to back-heel the ball near the corner flag midway through the first half of Saturday’s away match, which was goalless at the time. Girona 12/5 to beat Sevilla Dembele immediately raised his arm and then sat on the turf as he pointed to the back of his leg. He then walked off the pitch. There was a brief spell where Barca had to play with 10 men as they readied a substitute, the France international ultimately replaced by Gerard Deulofeu four minutes after going off....

Paying a surprise visit, with fellow boxer Chris Algieri, to the South Bronx Early College Academy, a public charter school, on Tuesday afternoon, the fighters asked a group of 24 students huddled around them, “Who’s your favorite boxer?” With exuberance, one student’s hand shot up and the student mentioned pro wrestler John Cena, even commenting that Algieri kind of looks like him. MORE: Join DAZN and watch Demetrius Andrade vs....

Meanwhile, some Republicans fear that a recently predicted red wave propelling them to regain control of Congress isn’t coming. A new poll released on Sunday indicated that Democratic prospects may not be as bleak as once feared. The CBS News Battleground Tracker still estimates that Republicans will win back a majority in the House, but their predicted share is now 226 seats—down from the 230 seats predicted in July. They need to win 218 seats to gain control....

The White House, Democrats and Republicans have been at odds over a new round of economic stimulus since mid-May, when House Democrats passed the $3 trillion HEROES Act. At the time, President Donald Trump and Republicans largely dismissed the package as a Democratic “wish list.” Then at the end of July, the White House and Senate Republicans put forward a relatively more modest $1 trillion package, dubbed the HEALS Act....

In the most expensive Senate race ever, North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis’ Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham raised $28.3 million between July 1 and September 30—more than four times the $6.6 million that Tillis drew during that same period. Cunningham is also ahead of Tillis by four percentage points in the latest New York Times/Siena College poll released Wednesday. The poll shows that 41 percent of likely voters in the state supported the Democrat and 37 percent supported the Republican, while 15 percent were undecided....

The USPS on-time delivery rate for first-class mail declined to 85.6 percent to the week ending October 16. This is a significant fall from an on-time rate of almost 91 percent for the three months to June, according to CBS News. This could affect the arrival of potentially crucial mail-in ballots. If ballots arrive too late, they will not be counted in some states. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) accused the USPS Board of Governors of being “accomplices” in DeJoy’s effort to sabotage the post office....

Symone Sanders, a senior advisor for Biden since his campaign began in 2019, and one of his most stalwart defenders during the campaign, has been mentioned as one of the top choices since Biden’s victory, along with deputy campaign manager and communications director Kate Bedingfield. But an NBC News report Wednesday added Biden senior adviser and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ chief of staff, Karine Jean-Pierre, to the shortlist, saying that she “has emerged as a top candidate” for White House press secretary job....

The attacks come from both ends of the political spectrum, including neo-Nazis and white supremacists on the far right and deluded members of the far left who regurgitate hateful lies about Israel. In fact, Nazi and Islamist antisemitism have historic ties. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) lists more than 400 antisemitic incidents in the United States so far this year. And Noa Tishby, author and campaigner against antisemitism, provided a list of some of the latest ones in a recent Instagram video....

All 38 seats in the upper chamber of the Michigan Legislature were up for grabs in Tuesday’s election. Democrats have not controlled the Michigan Senate since the early 1980s, but political district maps being redrawn by an independent redistricting commission gave the party a chance of taking it in 2022. For live updates on the midterms head over to Newsweek’s Live Blog: Who Won the Midterm Elections 2022?—Senate, House, Governor Results....

Committee chairman Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) said Democrats had moved the minimum wage increase forward on Wednesday morning, after an overnight meeting—which saw Republican lawmakers contest aspects of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief plan. Under the proposed legislation, the minimum wage would gradually increase to $15 an hour by 2025, according to a fact sheet released by the committee. There would also be a guarantee that tipped workers, youth workers, and disabled workers all receive the legal minimum wage....

Ryan Newman ran over something and broke a bead blower and his splitter in the first 50-minute session. Then at the end of the final session, Denny Hamlin nearly spun when he dipped on to the access road, hit a little bit of grass and nearly spun. MORE: Gordon wins pole, Harvick top chase driver | Homestead lineup breakdown | Newman: Cinderella was a racecar driver? “That was almost big,” Hamlin told his crew....

An MRI on Wednesday revealed Hamlin tore the ACL in his right knee while playing basketball on Tuesday. MORE: 2015 Sprint Cup Series winners | Standings ahead of Richmond | Weekend racing times, TV Despite the injury, Hamlin, 34, plans to put off surgery until after the season and will continue to race, USA Today reported. In January 2010, Hamlin tore his left ACL playing basketball. He had surgery ahead of the season-opening races at Daytona and didn’t miss a start....

On July 11, P Ravindran, 7, was taken to the Saveetha Dental College and Hospital in Chennai, complaining of a swollen growth on his lower jaw. When the dentists X-rayed Ravindran, they found a “bag-like” tumor containing 526 small teeth. “The tumor-like growth prevented permanent molar teeth growth in the boy in the affected side,” P Senthilnathan, a Professor at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Saveetha Dental College told The New Indian Express....