WASHINGTON — Last year on Christmas Eve, advisers to then-President-elect Joe Biden held an emergency meeting to discuss a scenario that felt increasingly likely: the emergence of a mutant strain of the coronavirus that would evade vaccine protection.

At the time, the alarm bells were ringing for the alpha variant, which quickly faded. But the concerns led Biden’s team to lay the groundwork for the plan they are now beginning to implement as researchers work to determine how much of a threat the omicron variant may pose, according to people familiar with the planning.

While there are still more questions than answers about the variant, Biden administration officials are prepping for a litany of worst-case scenarios and daunting questions, such as: What would happen if it turned out more than 200 million Americans needed to be revaccinated?

It will be several weeks before officials know the answer to that question. So far, they have said it is possible booster doses of the current vaccines will provide enough protection if the omicron variant turns out to be more lethal or contagious.

Former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot warned recently that fidelity is in jeopardy in America, not only in regard to the state and national constitutions, but to the country’s spirit as well. He also said there are serious warning signs that the U.S. Constitution and republic are at risk.

“The most probable way for our republic to vanish is through a lack of honor and fidelity. Not surprisingly that is precisely what is required by our constitutional oath of office,” he said in a speech brought a standing ovation from nearly 100 people attending the 100th annual meeting of the Montana Taxpayers Association on Wednesday at the Best Western Premier Helena Great Northern Hotel.

“I don’t want to preach, so I am hopeful that I won’t appear pretentious, but with all that has dramatically changed with the political and social fabric of our lives in this last decade and a half – much for the worse – in my judgment, I would confess that I sometimes feel like I am diagonally parked in a parallel universe," Racicot, a Republican, said.

“Maybe the old adage is true, that inside every older person is a younger person who wondered what happened,” he said.

Conservatives are aggressively building their own apps, phones, cryptocurrencies and publishing houses in an attempt to circumvent what they see as an increasingly liberal internet and media ecosystem.

Why it matters: Many of these efforts couldn't exist without the backing of major corporate figures and billionaires who are eager to push back against things like "censorship" and "cancel culture."

It's still not clear whether demand will match supply.

Driving the news: Rumble, a conservative alternative to YouTube, agreed to go public at an implied $2.1 billion valuation via a SPAC merger.

Data flooding in from South Africa and Europe is clear: The Omicron variant is spreading extremely quickly, including among vaccinated people.

Why it matters: If this trend holds up, that means a lot of people — around the world and in the U.S. — are about to get sick, even if only mildly so.

Driving the news: An early estimate published yesterday by the UK found that two doses of the Pfizer vaccine are only about 30% effective against symptomatic infection with Omicron, and the AstraZeneca vaccine isn't effective at all.

A booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine, however, increases effectiveness to 70-75%.

First came passage of one of the nation’s most restrictive voting bills. Then came efforts to overhaul the number of elected offices in one of Georgia’s largest counties.

Now, with the pending passage of a new congressional map, Republicans have taken another step toward dismantling the Atlanta-area engine that turned Georgia blue, powering President Joe Biden to victory in 2020 and flipping control of the Senate to Democrats.

Just as Georgia has emerged as a pivotal swing state, the GOP-controlled legislature has gone to extraordinary lengths to overhaul election administration, rewrite election rules and redraw political lines in the fast-growing metro region that is currently reshaping state politics.

The changes stand to roll back many of the recent Democratic Party’s gains or dilute Democratic power. And with a high-stakes Senate race, a governor’s race and several competitive House races in 2022, they could have implications that reach well beyond Georgia’s borders.

I left QAnon back in 2019, but I don’t seem to be able to walk away. I talk about my experience a lot — to the Washington Post, CNN and Rolling Stone magazine among many others. I even apologized to Anderson Cooper on his show for having once thought that he ate babies.

I’m one of the few former followers willing to go on the record with their story, which means I’m a source for journalists and researchers and sometimes also a guide for former believers who want to talk to someone who understands what they went through. I’m also one of the senior moderators of the QAnonCasualties forum on Reddit, a message board for family members of QAnon believers. I might have left, but I still have a close look into how the conspiracy theory is spreading and affecting people.

These days, QAnon isn’t getting the headlines it was after Jan. 6. I guess most of the world doesn’t pay attention to QAnon anymore unless its followers do something especially bizarre, like the recent gathering in Dallas where hundreds met in hopes of seeing John F. Kennedy Jr. alive. But from where I stand I don’t see QAnon fading away — I see it getting stronger.

I was sucked into QAnon in the winter of 2017. At the time, I casually followed various conspiracies online and the internet led me to Q. I was living in Australia, where I still live, but I had been interested in American politics since spending six months in the U.S. a few years before. I had rooted for Bernie Sanders during the 2016 primary and felt let down when he lost.

he mood on the Conservative tables in the Commons tearoom on Wednesday resembled something between a wake and a mutiny. Tory MPs had watched Boris Johnson get pummelled by Sir Keir Starmer at prime minister’s questions over No 10’s lockdown-busting party in December last year, when the rest of the country was banned from having social gatherings.

That morning a video had come to light of Allegra Stratton, then Johnson’s spokeswoman, doing a mock press conference in which she and other Downing Street aides discussed the “Christmas party” and joked they would have to present it publicly as “a business meeting” to get around the rules. The video sank No 10 claims that “there was no party”.

That same day in Portcullis House MPs were seen brandishing letters they were planning to send to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, demanding a vote of no confidence in the prime minister. Fifty-four letters are needed to trigger a vote.

And that was just the beginning. Next week Johnson faces the biggest rebellion of his premiership, with more than 60 Conservative MPs poised to vote against the imposition of extra Covid-19 measures.

A judge on Friday sentenced self-proclaimed Proud Boy Alan Swinney to 10 years in prison for pulling out a loaded revolver, firing paintballs and spraying bear mace at counterprotesters in downtown Portland last year.

Multnomah County Circuit Judge Heidi Moawad said Swinney had shown no remorse during his trial and up to his sentencing for his actions during two demonstrations in August 2020.

While she said she agreed with Swinney’s lawyer “that there were bad actors on both sides on both days,” she added: “The fact is that you are not just reacting on those dates. You were also provoking and you chose then to become one of those bad actors as well.”

Prosecutor Nathan Vasquez sought a slightly higher sentence of 10 years and one month, calling Swinney a “lightning rod” for political violence and an “extreme danger” to the community.