Inspector General's Report Cites Elaine Chao for Misuse of Office  —  The report said the Justice Department declined to investigate her promotion of her family's shipbuilding business while serving as transportation secretary in the Trump administration.  —  WASHINGTON — The Transportation …

Capitol Police Increase Security Following Threat  —  The United States Capitol Police Department is aware of and prepared for any potential threats towards members of Congress or towards the Capitol complex.  We have obtained intelligence that shows a possible plot to breach the Capitol …

Biden limits eligibility for stimulus payments under pressure from moderate Senate Democrats  —  President Biden has agreed to narrow eligibility for a new round of $1,400 stimulus payments in his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, under pressure from moderate Senate Democrats who've pushed for more “targeted” spending in the bill.

Election Integrity Is a National Imperative  —  After an election marked by significant voting irregularities and numerous instances of officials setting aside state election law, I share the concerns of millions of Americans about the integrity of the 2020 election.

David Shor on Why Trump Was Good for the GOP and How Dems Can Win in 2022  —  In the United States, every season is campaign season.  Four months after America last went to the polls, Democrats are still refining their autopsies of the 2020 race and already governing with an eye toward the 2022 midterms.

In Trump probe, Manhattan district attorney puts pressure on his longtime chief financial officer  —  The Manhattan district attorney is delving deeply into the personal and financial affairs of the chief financial officer for former president Donald Trump's company, probing the extent …

Neera Tanden's OMB nomination failed.  Her fallback plan remains a mystery.  —  Neera Tanden will play a role in the Biden administration.  Exactly what is TBD.  —  Sources close to Tanden say she is inclined to take a job in the administration — one that doesn't require Senate confirmation …

Two Transformer Statues At Center Of Georgetown Debate  —  The fate of humanity may not exactly have been at stake, but still the battle was on.  —  On one side, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee.  On the other, a Georgetown Advisory Neighborhood Commission.  (Cue dramatic music.)

David Brooks's Side Hustle Was Funded By Facebook And Jeff Bezos's Father  —  New York Times columnist David Brooks is drawing a second salary for his work on an Aspen Institute project funded by Facebook and other large donors — a fact he has not disclosed in his columns.

U.S. suspends federal agent who joined crowd outside Capitol during rampage, lawyer says  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has suspended an agent who was outside the Capitol when a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the building, his lawyer said …

Some key aides jump ship as Cuomo scandals spiral  —  ALBANY, N.Y. — At least two top aides to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo are leaving his office as the governor faces allegations of sexual harassment from former aides and a federal probe into his administration's handling of nursing home deaths.

Biden Secretly Limits Counterterrorism Drone Strikes Away From War Zones  —  Requiring higher-level approval is a stopgap measure as officials review whether to tighten Trump-era targeting rules and civilian safeguards.  —  WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has quietly imposed temporary limits …

Stockton's Basic-Income Experiment Pays Off  —  Two years ago, the city of Stockton, California, did something remarkable: It brought back welfare.  —  Using donated funds, the industrial city on the edge of the Bay Area tech economy launched a small demonstration program …

Public Wants Stimulus Checks More Than GOP Support for Plan  —  Majority back jobless benefits, wage hike, some college debt relief; Negative views of Biden, Congress rise  —  West Long Branch, NJ - More than 6 in 10 Americans support the Covid stimulus bill being considered by Congress …

Jim Jordan Under Scrutiny for Nearly $3 Million in Unreported Campaign Funds  —  “Jordan's campaign appears to have had systemic reporting problems over multiple years,” Brendan Fischer, director of reform at the Campaign Legal Center, told the Daily Beast.  —  This week, the campaign committee …

Google to Stop Selling Ads Based on Your Specific Web Browsing  —  Citing privacy concerns, Google says it won't use technologies that track individuals across multiple websites  —  Google plans to stop selling ads based on individuals' browsing across multiple websites …

Lin Wood Booted From Lawyers Club After Calling for Pence's Execution  —  OBJECTIONABLE  —  Pro-Trump attorney Lin Wood has been banished from a private lawyer's club in Atlanta after calling for former Vice President Mike Pence to face a firing squad.  Wood, who was behind several failed …

Donald Trump's Gab Account Uses an Email Address Belonging to the Extremist Platform's CEO … Gab, the far-right social network that's known as a safe space for hate speech, QAnon believers, Trump election fraud conspiracists, and white supremacist terrorists, was hacked pretty badly.

Alabama Senate votes to make hormone therapy and surgery for trans youth a felony  —  Under a new law, transgender youth in Alabama could not be treated with puberty-blockers, hormone therapy or surgery.  The state Senate voted to make the treatment a felony on Tuesday.

1619, 1776, and Us  —  What the conflict over the NYT extravaganza and the much-mocked Trump commission report is really about.  —  Among the Trump administration's final acts was the release, less than 48 hours before Donald Trump left office, of the “1776 Report.”

The silenced majority  —  In red America and blue America, an epidemic of self-censorship is threatening democracy  —  I know a lot of people who live in fear of saying what they really think.  In red America and in blue America — and, perhaps more so, on the red internet and the blue internet …

Zero COVID Risk Is the Wrong Standard  —  Oregon governor Kate Brown has been fighting to reopen the state's schools, some 80 percent of which remain fully remote.  Her efforts included providing schools with masks, testing, and ventilation, and giving teachers access to vaccines.

3 out of 4 Abbott medical advisers say they were not consulted before he lifted Texas mask mandate  —  Texas' top health official said Wednesday he did not speak with Gov. Greg Abbott before the governor announced Tuesday he would end his statewide mask order and “open Texas 100%.”

US militia group draws members from military and police, website leak shows  —  Analysis: Membership list of American Patriots Three Percent also shows widespread network of people from variety of occupations  —  A Guardian investigation of a website leak from the American Patriots Three Percent shows …

Fox News' Dr. Seuss obsession, by the numbers … If you watched Fox News yesterday, you'd think the most pressing news of the day was the supposed cancelation of Dr. Seuss.  The network devoted an hour and nine minutes of coverage to Dr. Seuss, more than twice as much as it gave …

ID Requirements Are Meant To Stop Vaccine Tourists, But They Can Also Shut Out Vulnerable Residents  —  As an undocumented construction worker living outside Miami, Miguel is constantly challenged to prove that he exists.  Police hassle him for an ID he doesn't have.

‘I Really Believe the Senate Is Broken’  —  For a fleeting few weeks, it seemed as though the Democratic establishment was really going to fight for a $15 federal minimum wage.  It is an incredibly popular policy proposal, one that would lift over a million Americans out of poverty and boost the economy.