POLITICO Playbook: Scoop: Trump sends legal notice to GOP to stop using his name  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  HAPPENING NOW ON THE SENATE FLOOR: The Senate is working its way through final GOP amendments to President JOE BIDEN's pandemic relief bill after pulling an all-nighter debating changes to the document.

Biden stimulus showers money on Americans, sharply cutting poverty in defining move of presidency  —  The $1.9 trillion package enjoys wide support across the country, polls show, but it comes with political and economic risks.  —  President Biden's stimulus package, which passed the Senate on Saturday …

NYT Columnist David Brooks Resigns From Nonprofit After More Evidence Of Conflicts Emerges  —  David Brooks has resigned from his position at the Aspen Institute following reporting by BuzzFeed News about conflicts of interest between the star New York Times columnist and funders of a program he led for the think tank.

We Need to Put a Name to This Violence  —  The recent attacks on Asian-Americans have unearthed the contradictions and questions beneath America's impoverished understanding of race.  To solve the problem, we must first learn how to talk about it.  —  In the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles riots …

Cuomo's behavior created ‘hostile, toxic’ workplace culture for decades, former aides say  —  A former press aide of Andrew M. Cuomo says he summoned her to his dimly lit hotel room and embraced her after a work event in 2000, when Cuomo led the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and she was a consultant for the agency.

Resign, Mr. Cuomo  —  First Gov. Andrew Cuomo hid the truth about deaths of nursing home residents from the public.  Then his administration lied about why.  Then, pretending to come clean, it lied about why it lied.  —  Enough.  Mr. Cuomo has squandered the public's trust at a time when it's needed more than ever.

Exclusive: Georgia prosecutor probing Trump taps leading racketeering attorney  —  (Reuters) - The district attorney investigating whether former U.S. President Donald Trump illegally interfered with Georgia's 2020 election has hired an outside lawyer who is a national authority on racketeering …

F.B.I. Finds Contact Between Proud Boys Member and Trump Associate Before Riot  —  A leader of the far-right group separately said he had been in touch with Roger Stone, but an official said it was not the same contact investigators found through electronic communications records.

U.S. Government Scientists Skeptical of One-Shot Regimen for Pfizer, Moderna Covid Vaccines  —  Some members of Congress have urged to allow for just one dose to speed up vaccinations  —  WASHINGTON—U.S. government scientists are pushing back against calls for one-dose regimens …

The fake anger of Neander-gate shows how desperate Republicans are to keep the base riled up  —  Opinion by  —  Neanderthals went extinct about 30,000 years ago, but that did not stop Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) from speaking affectionately about them on Thursday in the present tense.

Hackers Breach Thousands of Microsoft Customers Around the World  — Number of victims of Chinese attack continues to grow rapidly  — White House warns companies to take threat “very seriously”  —  A sophisticated attack on Microsoft Corp.'s widely used business email software …

Biden's slow and steady approach on Cabinet choices seems to be working  —  The Biden administration has learned that slow and steady might just win the race to confirming the new Cabinet.  —  Despite the historically sluggish pace of Senate consideration, President Biden's Cabinet choices have …

How Never Trumpers Are Becoming Pro-Democracy Republicans  —  One of the most predictable developments of the post-Trump era was that the small band of anti-Trump conservative intellectuals and Republican officials would quickly melt away.  They had been repulsed by Donald Trump's combination …

Whitmer picked to lead Nevada Democrats in major power shift  —  Clark County Democratic Party Chair Judith Whitmer defeated Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom on Saturday to assume control of the Nevada State Democratic Party, ushering a dramatic shakeup of the state party's power structure by its most liberal wing.

Vindication for Ron DeSantis  —  The media vilified him for rejecting harsh lockdowns.  But Florida's Covid-19 numbers are better than California's or New York's, and its economy thrives.  —  In the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo imposed strict lockdown policies …

De Blasio is serious about ‘longshot’ run against Gov. Cuomo, insiders say  —  Mayor Bill de Blasio has been talking to his inner circle and union allies about running for governor, and sources say he is growing increasingly confident he can win.  —  “I fell out of my chair laughing …