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Democracy Dies in Darkness

(Chase Daok)

Blinken postpones Beijing trip as U.S. probes suspected spy balloon

Hours before the secretary of state was scheduled to depart for Beijing, the diplomatic visit was called off. The Chinese Foreign Ministry called the balloon “a civilian airship.”

By Cate Cadell, John Hudson and Yasmeen Abutaleb34 minutes ago

MORE COVERAGE

What to know about the suspected Chinese spy balloon

By Victoria Bisset, Andrew Jeong and Lyric Li45 minutes ago

The Cybersecurity 202Analysis

U.S. nuclear sites face hacking and espionage threats

By Tim Starks and Vanessa Montalbano

Seasonally adjusted; the figures for the most recent two months are preliminary. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

U.S. added 517,000 jobs last month in astonishing labor market growth

The unemployment rate dropped to 3.4 percent, reaching a new longtime low, despite widespread tech layoffs.

By Lauren Kaori Gurley and Rachel Siegel50 minutes ago

Restaurants can’t find workers because they’ve found better jobs

By Abha Bhattarai and Maggie Penman1 hour ago

Post ReportsPodcast

Why so many industries have too many jobs and not enough workers

(Matt McClain/The Post)

These Black women are changing TV weather, a field long dominated by White men

The data confirms what Black women in the industry have described: they are grossly underrepresented in meteorology – especially in television.

By Amudalat Ajasa

MORE COVERAGE

Listen: Who’s in charge in the 118th Congress?

Play: Today’s crossword puzzles and other games

Carolyn Hax: Caregiver is publicly blamed for father-in-law’s death

Cook: Chocolate-covered peanut butter pretzels are best made at home

Despite prior sexual harassment probe, executive hired to senior federal job

POST POLITICS NOW

(AP)

An investigative reporter was slain. What about his unfinished story?

Las Vegas journalist Jeff German was killed before finishing a story about a Ponzi scheme targeting Mormons. So a Washington Post reporter stepped in to help.

MORE COVERAGE

(Celia Jacobs for The Post)

Well+BeingAdvice

3 ways to stop waking up frequently during the night and improve sleep

Frequent wakings can harm your health. Here are a few steps you may be able to take.

By Lisa Strauss

Confidence in police drops after Tyre Nichols’s fatal beating, Post-ABC poll finds

By Mark Berman and Scott Clement

Mom describes D.C. Metro shooting suspect’s downward spiral

By Peter Hermann

Harvard is shutting down project that studied social media misinformation

By Drew Harwell and Joseph Menn

As Tom Brady called it a career, Gisele Bündchen was back at work

By Monica Hesse

LATEST HEADLINES

Alex Ovechkin gets the ESPN documentary treatment as he closes in on Wayne Gretzky

10 minutes ago

She was presumed dead. Then she woke up in a body bag gasping for air.

12 minutes ago

Blinken postpones China trip as suspected spy balloon detected over U.S.

34 minutes ago

What to know about the suspected Chinese spy balloon

45 minutes ago

Schools sometimes fall short on services for children who need extra support

57 minutes ago

From snowy West to snow-starved East, a map of winter winners and losers

1 hour ago

Twitter curbs researcher access, sparking backlash in Washington

Tennis star Nick Kyrgios pleads guilty to assault but avoids punishment

Upcoming Live Events

Do you have pressing tax questions? Ask Michelle Singletary.

Friday, February 3, at 12:00 p.m. EST

Washington Post Live

Jelani Cobb on debate over how race and history are taught

Monday, February 6, at 11:00 a.m. EST

Most Read

Blinken postpones China trip as suspected spy balloon detected over U.S.

Hours before Secretary of State Antony Blinken was scheduled to depart for Beijing, the diplomatic visit was called off.

Restaurants can’t find workers because they’ve found better jobs

3 ways to stop waking up frequently during the night and improve sleep

Republicans have a big Kari Lake problem

Chinese spy balloon flying over U.S. ‘right now,’ Pentagon says

Don’t Miss

A closer look at the tanks the U.S. and allies are sending Ukraine

By Ellen Francis, Adam Taylor, Samuel Granados and Naomi Schanen

This free fitness equipment is hidden in plain sight

By Bob Brody

This software tries to spot lung cancer years earlier. Can it?

By Pranshu Verma

This is the environmental cost of the food we eat

By Niko Kommenda, Naema Ahmed, Scott Dance and Simon Ducroquet

Kari Lake, former Republican nominee for Arizona governor. (David Blakeman for The Post)

Republicans rally around conservatives who lost their elections

By Ashley Parker

Pleas for police reform meet bleak reality

By Mark Berman and David Nakamura

Trump ‘totally’ disagrees with McCarthy on whether death of Jan. 6 rioter Babbitt

What made George Santos lie so much? Experts weigh in on his deception.

By Roxanne Roberts

The things that cost George Santos precisely $199.99

Carolyn Hax: What kind of friend gives a weight-loss book as a gift?

By Carolyn HaxFebruary 3

How to repair gaps between vinyl flooring planks

By Jeanne HuberFebruary 3

Friend or fraud: Seven ways to spot a Ponzi scheme, and other scams

By Michelle SingletaryFebruary 3

We still use appliances like it’s 1970. There’s a better way.

By Michael J. CorenFebruary 2

Miss Manners: Solo diner feels shamed by host’s ‘just one?’ question

February 3

Ask Amy: Grandma-to-be doesn’t want to host baby shower for unmarried couple

February 3

For YouRecommended stories

Well+BeingNews and advice to live well every day

(iStock/Getty Images/ iStock)

Should you be worried about infection from eye drops?

By Marlene Cimons1 hour ago

Did your resolutions slide? It might be the ‘what the hell’ effect.

By Tara Parker-Pope

Want to potentially lower the risk of getting dementia? Take in nature.

By Meeri Kim

Fallopian tube removal advised for more women to prevent ovarian cancer

By Teddy Amenabar, Amy Goldstein and Lindsey Bever

This free fitness equipment is hidden in plain sight

By Bob Brody

ClimateExpanded coverage of a changing planet

(Tim Meko/The Washington Post)

From snowy West to snow-starved East, a map of winter winners and losers

By Tim Meko and Bonnie Berkowitz1 hour ago

Will the world run out of critical minerals?

By Shannon Osaka

Land-dwelling rats are upending life for coral reef fish

By Dino Grandoni

Punxsutawney Phil is wrong: Spring is arriving early in some places

By Kasha Patel and Scott Dance

The gas industry is under fire. It’s hiring Democratic politicians to help.

By Maxine Joselow

(AP)

Killing of top ISIS militant casts spotlight on group’s broad reach in Africa

By Katharine Houreld

Live briefing: War in Ukraine

E.U. leaders in Kyiv for summit amid air raid sirens

By Andrew Jeong, Ellen Francis and Kate Brady

Celebrating Stalingrad, Putin tries to justify his Ukraine war

By Mary Ilyushina

As settler movement gains momentum, Jewish population in West Bank passes half a million

By Claire Parker

Andrew Tate rape allegations, text exchanges with women detailed in court document

By Loveday Morris

(Aleph Farms/via REUTERS)

Is lab-grown steak kosher? Religious leaders weigh the sensitive question.

By Laura Reiley

Nikole Hannah-Jones isn’t done challenging the story of America

By Wesley Lowery

A pregnant runner’s open letter to the Boston Marathon helped spur change

Shop for bargains at HomeGoods like an interior designer

By Michelle Brunner

‘Sushi tero’: The latest viral Japanese trend that is turning stomachs

By Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Julia Mio Inuma

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

(Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post)

College Board faces storm of criticism over AP African American studies

By Nick Anderson

Pete Buttigieg says U.S. can fix the most dangerous thing in transportation

By Michael Laris

Judge sentences woman to finish a law degree: ‘This was a life lesson’

By Praveena Somasundaram

Ohio officials are investigating pro-Nazi home schoolers

By Laura Meckler

New England braces for ‘epic, generational arctic outbreak’

By Ian Livingston

Winter weather guide

What is wind chill? Here’s how it makes the air feel colder.

By Matthew Cappucci

4 things to do now to prepare yourself and your home for extreme cold

By Scott Dance and Amudalat Ajasa

5 tips to stay safe in winter weather

By Tara Parker-Pope

How to dress to stay warm when it’s super cold

By Angela Fritz

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Natasha Lyonne soars in ‘Poker Face.’ If only the mysteries did.

By Lili Loofbourow

Meagan Good didn’t make it to ‘Harlem’ alone

By Helena Andrews-Dyer

New movies to stream this week: ‘Pamela, a Love Story’ and more

By Olivia McCormack and Lucas Trevor

Her parents devoted their lives to supporting North Korea from Japan. Her films explore that tension.

By Michelle Ye Hee Lee

D.C., MD. & VA.

(Courtesy of Thomas Cucé (custom credit)/Courtesy of Thomas Cucé)

Others saw a rusty old lighthouse. This man saw opportunity.

By Ellie Silverman

Man fatally shot at shopping center in Southeast Washington

By Peter Hermann

As a rapist seeks freedom, a victim’s plea moves a D.C. judge to tears

Town of Pound emerges from death sentence in Virginia Assembly

By Gregory S. Schneider

With Black history under attack, a D.C. home where it was made is saved

By Petula Dvorak

Capital Weather Gang

D.C.-area forecast: Arctic blast is here, with numbing wind chills through tonight

By A. Camden Walker

By never veering from its recipe, Obelisk remains a top draw in D.C.

By Tom Sietsema

At least three red states could make it harder for voters to keep abortion legal

By Rachel Roubein and McKenzie Beard

Long-term exposure to pollution linked to depression, study finds

By Kelly Kasulis Cho

CDC warns EzriCare eyedrops may be linked to bacterial infections, 1 death

By Kelsey Ables

How will ‘couch potato’ humans evolve? Idle cavefish offer clues.

By Mark Johnson

How to see the green comet — from the astronomer who discovered it

By Amudalat Ajasa

Surprising mummy ingredients found at ancient Egyptian workshop

By Carolyn Y. Johnson

(John McDonnell/The Washington Post)

Behind the scenes with the Wizards and all that dirty laundry

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander headlines four first-time NBA all-stars

By Ben Golliver

Before Patrick Mahomes vs. Jalen Hurts, there was Doug Williams

By Nicki Jhabvala

Brian Mitchell isn’t in the Hall of Fame. It’s time to right that wrong.

By Barry Svrluga

How a Tom Brady-loving grandma inspired the making of ‘80 for Brady’

(iStock)

Work Advice: My employer is reneging on its remote-work promise

By Karla L. Miller

Three moves to get your tax refund faster in 2023

By Michelle Singletary

Biden announces departure of top economic adviser

As the U.S. deals with the Great Resignation, these countries have pushed for the ‘right to disconnect’

Boeing delivers last 747 as fans celebrate plane that changed air travel

By Andrew Jeong

10 ways to streamline meal prep for more efficient weeknight cooking

By Aaron Hutcherson56 minutes ago

By never veering from its recipe, Obelisk remains a top draw in D.C.

By Tom Sietsema

This fizzy red wine conjures up an Italian vacation

By Dave McIntyre

Naturally sweetened pine nut cookies are a treat worth smiling about

By Ellie Krieger

Hong Kong offers 500,000 free plane tickets to lure tourists back

Getting married in Vegas? Pick up your license at the airport.

By Hannah Sampson

We asked: What happens if TSA finds weed in my bag?

By Natalie B. Compton

Splash Mountain has closed. Here are 7 other rides Disney fans miss.

By Hannah Sampson