FBI Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday that the bureau has no evidence that far-left violent extremists were involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“We have not to date seen any evidence of anarchist violent extremists or people subscribed to antifa in connection with the sixth,” Wray told lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee, using a term to refer to the left-wing anti-fascism movement.

“That doesn’t mean we’re not looking, and we’ll continue to look, but at the moment we have not seen that.”

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The idea that “antifa,” an umbrella term for far-left leaning groups, was responsible for the Jan. 6 Capitol breach has been floated repeatedly by former President TrumpDonald TrumpSouth Carolina Senate adds firing squad as alternative execution method Ex-Trump aide Pierson won’t run for Dallas-area House seat House Oversight panel reissues subpoena for Trump’s accounting firm MORE‘s allies.

Hours after the mob was cleared from the Capitol, Rep. Matt GaetzMatthew (Matt) GaetzSome Republicans say proxy voting gives advantage to Democrats Wray says no evidence of ‘antifa’ involvement in Jan. 6 attack Republican rips GOP lawmakers for voting by proxy from CPAC MORE (R-Fla.) claimed from the floor of the House that some members of the mob that breached the Capitol on Wednesday were members of antifa “masquerading as Trump supporters.”

Rep. Jaime Herrera BeutlerJaime Lynn Herrera BeutlerWray says no evidence of ‘antifa’ involvement in Jan. 6 attack Arizona rep to play leading role in GOP women’s group ahead of midterms Acting chief acknowledges police were unprepared for mob MORE (R-Wash.) released a statement during Trump’s impeachment trial that said when Rep. Kevin McCarthyKevin McCarthySome Republicans say proxy voting gives advantage to Democrats Wray says no evidence of ‘antifa’ involvement in Jan. 6 attack Republican rips GOP lawmakers for voting by proxy from CPAC MORE (R-Calif.) “finally reached the president on January 6 and asked him to publicly and forcefully call off the riot, the president initially repeated the falsehood that it was antifa that had breached the Capitol.”

The former president’s lawyer also sought in his opening statement during the impeachment trial to point the finger, without evidence, at so-called antifa militants.  

Republicans have also sought to point to last summer’s racial justice demonstrations that sometimes turned violent to push back on Democrats’ calls for the FBI to hone in on white nationalism and other far-right ideologies and argue the bureau needs to focus on a full range of extremists.

Sen. Charles GrassleyChuck GrassleyFBI director faces lawmaker frustration over Capitol breach Padilla has ‘big Chuck Taylors to fill’ in replacing Harris Judiciary Committee greenlights Garland’s AG nomination MORE (R-Iowa) brought up the issue in his opening statement at Tuesday’s hearing.

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“It’s been a relatively frequent sight at the summer’s violent events to see individuals acting in coordination, holding the “A” symbol of antifa,” Grassley said, noting the protests in Portland.

“In light of these ever-present left-wing threats, I’m concerned about ‘resource shifting’ talk among Congressional Democrats….We must examine the issue of domestic terrorism broadly, to include the left and right wing of the political spectrum. No serious oversight activity and no serious policy decisions can be done without doing so.”

Wray has resisted pressure from lawmakers to more narrowly focus on certain ideologies. 

“We don’t care what ideology motivates somebody,” he said. “We don’t care whether it’s left, right, up, down, diagonal or any other way. If the ideology is motivating violence and violates federal law we’re coming after it.”

Updated at 11:55 a.m.

The Tokyo Olympics organizing committee on Tuesday added 12 women to its executive board, a symbolic gesture after the group’s former president resigned last month amid outcry over sexist comments about female board members. 

The Associated Press reported that the size of the board was increased from 35 to 45 to allow for the additional women, with several resignations on Tuesday also providing room for the new members. 

The board, which was previously included just 20 percent women, now has 19 female members, bringing female representation on the leadership body up to 42 percent, the AP noted. 

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Tokyo Olympics CEO Toshiro Muto announced the changes following an executive board meeting, and the news service reported that the names of the new members are expected Wednesday. 

Muto added that the board will now have one female vice president among seven total. 

Seiko Hashimoto, a former Olympian who was named president of the organizing committee last month, said when she took on the new role that she would increase female participation on the committee’s executive board.

“Regarding the promotion of gender equality, we believe that it is necessary to work with a sense of speed and produce solid results in order to restore the trust in the organizing committee,” Hashimoto said at Tuesday’s board meeting. 

Hashimoto’s appointment last month came nearly a week after former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori resigned as president of the Tokyo Olympics committee following backlash over sexist comments he made about women talking too much at board meetings.

Mori at an earlier committee meeting had suggested that women’s speaking time be regulated.

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“When you increase the number of female executive members, if their speaking time isn’t restricted to a certain extent, they have difficulty finishing, which is annoying,” he said at the time. 

The 83-year-old later apologized for his remarks, which he called “inappropriate,” adding he had “no intention of neglecting women.” 

The Tokyo Olympics committee is facing additional scrutiny over its ability to begin events as planned on July 23 as the coronavirus pandemic persists in Japan and around the world. 

The AP reported Tuesday that Hashimoto is scheduled to participate in a “five-party meeting” with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and other leaders to discuss whether fans will be allowed into Olympic venues, as well as if spectators from other countries will be allowed into Japan amid the pandemic.

Federal cybersecurity has “regressed” since 2019 due to factors including the lack of centralized cyber leadership at the White House, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report released Tuesday. 

The watchdog agency included boosting federal cybersecurity as a key issue in its “high risk” report to Congress, which outlines a wide array of areas where the federal government is both succeeding and falling behind. 

“Federal agencies and other entities need to take urgent actions to implement a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy, perform effective oversight, secure federal systems, and protect cyber critical infrastructure, privacy, and sensitive data,” GAO wrote. 

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It said the nation’s cybersecurity need “significant attention,” pointing in particular to “missing important characteristics” in the Trump administration’s National Cyber Strategy, released in 2018, and the lack of an “officially appointed central leader” on cybersecurity at the White House. 

The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act established a national cyber director position within the executive branch, but President BidenJoe BidenIntercept bureau chief: minimum wage was not ‘high priority’ for Biden in COVID-19 relief South Carolina Senate adds firing squad as alternative execution method Obama alum Seth Harris to serve as Biden labor adviser: report MORE has not yet nominated an individual to fill the role. 

Cyber workforce is also a concern, with GAO finding that none of the 24 federal agencies reviewed had ensured that employees had the cybersecurity skills necessary, particularly in the areas of electric grid and aviation cybersecurity. 

“Federal agencies and our nation’s critical infrastructures—such as energy, transportation systems, communications, and financial services—are dependent on IT systems and electronic data to carry out operations and to process, maintain, and report essential information,” the watchdog agency wrote. “The security of these systems and data is vital to public confidence and national security, prosperity, and well-being.”

Other areas of high risk identified by GAO included the U.S. census process, the U.S. Postal Service’s lack of financial viability in 2020, and the monitoring criteria for the Environmental Protection Agency’s process for identifying and removing toxic chemicals. 

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The report was released as the federal government continues to grapple with the extent of what has become known as the SolarWinds hack. 

The incident, ongoing for almost a year before discovery in December, involved likely Russian hackers infiltrating software from IT group SolarWinds and using this to compromise its customers. A White House official said last month that at least nine federal agencies and 100 private sector companies were breached. 

The overall report was the focus of a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on Tuesday, at which U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro testified. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the same topic Tuesday afternoon. 

Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn MaloneyCarolyn MaloneyGovernment watchdog finds federal cybersecurity has ‘regressed’ in recent years Lawmakers line up behind potential cyber breach notification legislation DeJoy apologizes for mail delays while defending Postal Service changes MORE (D-N.Y.) highlighted the need to confront the “silent battle” within critical networks against malicious hackers.

“The SolarWinds breach that came to light last December, as well as escalating targeted cyberattacks that have drained millions of dollars from struggling hospitals, are just two examples of the threats we know about,” Maloney said during her opening remarks. 

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Dodaro outlined the need to address the nation’s cybersecurity vulnerabilities, noting that 750 of the 3,300 recommendations GAO has made on federal cybersecurity since 2010 remain open. 

He said that had these recommendations been addressed, the SolarWinds hack would likely have been discovered earlier. 

“We would have been better postured to detect and defend ourselves, and take quicker action,” Dodaro testified.

The comptroller general also highlighted the need for the Biden administration to fill the national cyber director role, and supported the idea of increased information sharing between the federal government and private sector on cybersecurity incidents.

“So far, we’re not at that point of having enough fluidity in the sharing of this information to have an integrated, coordinated effort to protect our nation,” Dodaro said. “I’m hopeful that the cybersecurity coordinator, once that’s filled, can help build trust and build mechanisms to more effectively share that information.”

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office recently subpoenaed a New York City property tax agency as it ramps up a criminal investigation into former President TrumpDonald TrumpUN report says Erik Prince violated arms embargo against Libya: report Lee after Romney’s impeachment vote: There’s enough room in GOP ‘for both of us’ Nunes lawsuit against CNN thrown out MORE‘s company for potential tax fraud, according to Reuters.

New York City Tax Commission confirmed to the news outlet on Friday that it was subpoenaed, an indication that Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. may be looking to assess Trump’s property tax filings and loan documents.

Investigators looking into Trump’s business will now be able to look through the tax agency documents in addition to previously subpoenaed records from Trump’s creditors to determine if the former president inflated his property value in an effort to get more favorable loans while recording lower values to reduce his taxes for the same properties, Reuters reported.

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With the subpoena, the news outlet noted, the New York City Tax Commission may be more inclined to provide the courts with the Trump Organization’s detailed income and expense statements filed with the intention to lower taxes on commercial properties, including Trump Tower and Trump Plaza.

Vance’s office declined to respond to the outlet’s request for comment. 

Reuters reported that court filings have stated that Vance’s office is investigating “possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct” at the Trump Organization.

Vance’s investigation is reportedly the only known criminal probe of Trump’s real-estate dealings. New York State Attorney General Letitia James has led a civil investigation into whether or not Trump’s business reported false property values in order to get tax breaks, the outlet reported.

FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress on Tuesday that he doesn’t believe the bureau is systemically racist, and vowed to make more strides in diversifying its personnel and leadership.

While testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Wray was asked by Sen. John KennedyJohn Neely KennedyMORE (R-La.) whether he believed the FBI is a “systemically racist institution.”

“No, but having said that I do believe the FBI has to be more diverse and more inclusive than it is, and that we need to work a lot harder at that and we’re trying to work a lot harder at that,” Wray responded.

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He also told Sen. Cory BookerCory BookerWray says FBI not systemically racist BBC apologizes for interview with fake Cory Booker Democrats push Biden to include recurring payments in recovery package MORE (D-N.J.) that he is “cautiously optimistic” about the FBI’s efforts to recruit and hire people of color to the bureau’s ranks, saying that each incoming class of special agents is increasingly diverse.

The FBI has been accused of using its broad law enforcement powers against minorities throughout its history, from investigating civil rights leaders in the mid-20th century to unjustly targeting Muslim Americans in the years following September 11, 2001.

Wray’s predecessor, James ComeyJames Brien ComeyWray says FBI not systemically racist John Durham’s endgame: Don’t expect criminal charges Trump DOJ officials sought to block search of Giuliani records: report MORE, who was fired by former President TrumpDonald TrumpSouth Carolina Senate adds firing squad as alternative execution method Ex-Trump aide Pierson won’t run for Dallas-area House seat House Oversight panel reissues subpoena for Trump’s accounting firm MORE in 2017, had publicly acknowledged the FBI’s sordid history and encouraged its officials to study it.

In a 2016 speech, Comey said that he kept a copy of the 1963 memo signed by J. Edgar Hoover and Robert F. Kennedy authorizing indefinite FBI surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr.

“I keep it there in that spot to remind me of what we in the FBI are responsible for and what we as humans are capable of, and why it is vital that power be overseen, be constrained, be checked,” Comey said.

A detention center officer in New Mexico filed a lawsuit over a workplace requirement to receive the coronavirus vaccine, the first lawsuit against mandatory COVID-19 vaccination in the U.S.

The detention center officer, Isaac Legaretta, sued a county manager and his supervisor on Sunday, Bloomberg Law reported. The officer’s attorney, Ana Garner, said he was told he would be fired for refusing inoculation.

The complaint claims the county manager and supervisor violated his rights by making the vaccine a condition of employment for first responders unless reasonable accommodation has been approved.

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“You can’t be forced to be a human guinea pig when a product is experimental,” Garner, an attorney for the nonprofit New Mexico Stands Up!, told Bloomberg. “We have the right to bodily integrity.”

The county attorney has disputed the allegations and argued that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said employers can mandate vaccinations. 

The attorney also argues that Legaretta hasn’t claimed to have a qualifying condition preventing him from getting the vaccination. 

The American Disabilities Act (ADA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would allow for employee vaccination exemptions under certain health and religious reasons. 

The EEOC in March 2020 said an employer covered by the ADA and Title VII can’t compel all of its employees to take a vaccine. Otherwise, employers are likely on firm legal ground to mandate vaccinations.

Seth Harris, who previously served as acting Labor secretary under former President Obama, has reportedly been tapped by the White House to serve as labor adviser under the Biden administration.

Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing an administration official, that Harris will assume the role of deputy assistant to the president for labor and economic matters under President BidenJoe BidenIntercept bureau chief: minimum wage was not ‘high priority’ for Biden in COVID-19 relief South Carolina Senate adds firing squad as alternative execution method Obama alum Seth Harris to serve as Biden labor adviser: report MORE.

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.

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Harris previously served as deputy Labor secretary under Obama for roughly five years and acting secretary for the department for half a year. His experience also includes past roles as a labor adviser for Biden’s presidential campaign and serving on the Department of Labor’s transition team.

An administration official told Bloomberg that Harris will be Biden’s top labor adviser, coordinating relationships between the office and labor groups. The outlet also reported he will be overseeing workers’ rights efforts, among other responsibilities. 

Harris will also reportedly be working with Domestic Policy Council and the National Economic Council in the role. 

In an interview with Bloomberg, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said Harris will “help the president tremendously in the White House and help working people in the country.”

“Seth has a broad base of knowledge about the labor community,” he also said. 

However, the new reported hire may not come without opposition from some.

According to Bloomberg, some liberals have criticized Harris in the past for his work with law firm Dentons, where he was employed after his exit from the Obama administration.

Walmart is among the employers that the firm has defended in past labor disputes, the outlet noted.

Radiologists around the country are noting a potential aftereffect of the COVID-19 vaccine: swelling in lymph nodes under the armpit that are showing up on mammograms.

Lymph nodes exist in various regions around the body, including the neck, groin and armpits, and swell in the presence of bacteria, infection or sometimes cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Typically, an enlarged lymph node in the armpit region would warrant a biopsy of the breast tissue, as it can be an indicator of breast cancer that is beginning to spread, according to the Susan G. Komen Foundation; however, radiologists say that these occurrences after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine are to be expected and are not normally of concern.

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In most patients, evidence of swollen lymph nodes following vaccination typically does not warrant further action unless the swelling persists or other health issues are at play, Massachusetts General Hospital said in a recent release.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted in its Moderna and Pfizer vaccine reports that swelling of the lymph nodes was “plausibly related to the vaccine” and was most often witnessed in the arm and neck regions two to four days after vaccination. Swelling tended to last for an average of one to two days for Moderna and approximately 10 days for Pfizer.

Massachusetts General Hospital warned that radiologists would likely see an uptick in the number of enlarged lymph nodes showing up during mammograms as nationwide vaccination efforts increase.

Constance Lehman, chief of breast imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital, told The New York Times she’s glad word of this occurrence is spreading to help put people at ease.

“I am particularly eager to get the word out to all the patients undergoing surveillance after successful prior treatment of cancer,” she said.

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced new sanctions on Russia in response to Moscow’s poisoning and jailing of Alexei Navalny, accusing Russia’s main intelligence agency of attempting to assassinate the opposition leader last year.

The Biden administration is imposing sanctions on seven members of the Russian government and export controls on several business entities involved in biological agent production. The sanctions include Russian officials and a Russian research center that were previously sanctioned by the European Union (EU) and United Kingdom last October in connection with Navalny’s poisoning in August 2020.

The sanctions, which are being coordinated with EU partners, come after an intelligence community assessment concluded with “high confidence” that officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) used the Novichok nerve agent to poison Navalny last August, Biden administration officials said.

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“We’re sending a clear signal to Russia that there are consequences for the use of chemical weapons,” a senior administration official said.

The sanctions are expected to be formally rolled out later Tuesday. They are the first U.S. sanctions to be imposed on Russia over Navalny’s poisoning.

The Biden administration is also notifying Congress that Navalny’s poisoning triggered further sanctions under the 1991 Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act. The Trump administration previously sanctioned Russia under the law in response to the March 2018 poisoning of former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in Great Britain.

The Treasury Department on Tuesday is designating seven senior members of the Russian government, officials said. The Commerce Department is also adding 14 parties to its entity list because of their involvement in biological agent and chemical agent production, including nine commercial entities in Russia, three in Germany and one in Switzerland.

The sanctions reflect President BidenJoe BidenSenate Democrats negotiating changes to coronavirus bill Rural Americans are the future of the clean energy economy — policymakers must to catch up WHO official says it’s ‘premature’ to think pandemic will be over by end of year MORE’s effort to confront and penalize Russia for bad behavior while also trying to work with it on matters of mutual concern. The U.S. and Russia agreed to extend the New START nuclear arms treaty with Moscow for a full five years earlier this year.

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At the same time, Biden has forcefully condemned Russia’s behavior and raised the matter in his first phone call with Russian President Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich PutinUN experts: International investigation into Navalny poisoning needed Views of China, Russia at record lows: Gallup West’s ‘wokeness’ helped Russia to redefine a ‘prisoner of conscience’ MORE since taking office in January. His approach has diverged from that of his predecessor, former President TrumpDonald TrumpProsecutors focus Trump Organization probe on company’s financial officer: report WHO official says it’s ‘premature’ to think pandemic will be over by end of year Romney released from hospital after fall over the weekend MORE, who often spoke warmly of Putin and questioned assessments of Russia’s culpability in malign efforts.

The Trump administration did not impose sanctions on Russians in response to Navalny’s poisoning, nor did it ever publicly blame Moscow for the poisoning.

“Our goal is to have a relationship with Russia that is predictable and stable. Where there are opportunities for it to be constructive, and it is in our interest, we intend to pursue them. Given Russia’s conduct in recent years, there will also undoubtedly be adversarial elements and we will not shy away from those,” a senior administration official said. “The United States is neither trying to reset our relations with Russia nor are we seeking to escalate.”

Confronting Russia will be a challenge for Biden, and it is unlikely whether the actions taken Tuesday will in any way alter Moscow’s behavior.

The EU and U.K. last October imposed sanctions targeting six Russian officials and a Russian research center, the State Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology; the U.S. actions on Tuesday will match those taken by EU partners.

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The EU is also expected to announce sanctions on four individuals on Tuesday, two of which the U.S. intends to sanction and two of which have already been subject to sanctions in the U.S.

The Biden administration has undertaken a sweeping review of Russian behavior, including the treatment of Navalny and also its involvement in the SolarWinds hack, election meddling efforts and alleged bounties on U.S. service members in Afghanistan.

An administration official told reporters that more actions would be forthcoming around each of these issues “in the coming weeks,” stressing that there would be “more to come.”

The Washington Post reported last month that the Biden administration is planning to sanction Russia for the breach of at least nine federal agencies and 100 private sector companies that has become known as the SolarWinds hack.

Germany, France, and Sweden as well as the global chemical watchdog known as the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons judged last year that Navalny was poisoned with the Novichok nerve agent.

Navalny recovered from the attack last August in Germany and returned to Russia in January. He was swiftly jailed and sentenced by a Russian court to a 32-month prison term for violating the terms of his probation.

The U.S. and its European partners have condemned Navalny’s jailing as politically motivated and demanded his release. The international community has also denounced Russia’s imprisonment of protesters who have demonstrated in support of Navalny and against the Kremlin’s actions.

“We reiterate our call for the Russian government to immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Navalny,” a senior administration official said Tuesday.

Updated at 10:16 a.m.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is pushing Facebook to reverse its decision to restrict users in the country from sharing news content over a proposed law that would make the platform pay publishers for the content. 

“The idea of shutting down the sorts of sites they did yesterday, as some sort of threat — well, I know how Australians react to that and I thought that was not a good move on their part,” Morrison told reporters on Friday, according to The Associated Press. 

He urged the platform to negotiate. 

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“They should move quickly past that, come back to the table and we’ll sort it out,” Morrison reportedly said. 

Facebook on Wednesday said it would restrict Australian publishers from sharing or posting content on the platform’s pages and limit Australian users from viewing or sharing international publishers’ links and posts. 

The update followed warnings from Facebook about restricting content over a proposal in Australia that would force tech giants to pay news publishers for their content. 

The proposal would allow media companies to request payment from tech giants, and subject Google and Facebook to mandatory price arbitration if a deal could not be reached. 

Google and Facebook have both fiercely pushed back on the proposal. The bill passed Australia’s House of Representatives on Wednesday and now must be approved by the Senate to become law. 

The same day Facebook announced its update restricting Australian users, Google seemed to soften its stance against the bill confirming a deal was reached with News Corp for content. A few days before, Google had struck a deal with Australian-based Seven West Media for content.