White House infrastructure talks with Capito collapse, leading to fingerpointing as Biden shifts strategy  —  The negotiations had stalled amid major disagreements over the size of any package and how to pay for it.  —  President Biden and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.a) …

US ambassador to Russia warned senators that Biden administration risks repeating predecessors' mistakes in dealing with Putin  —  (CNN)The day before the White House announced that President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin would hold their first in-person meeting in Geneva …

Biden's press plane was about to head to Europe.  Then Brood X cicadas ‘invaded’ the engines.  —  The Brood X cicadas that rose from the earth after 17 years underground have proved their determination to leave a mark before they die off in a few weeks.  The shrill, winged insects have driven tourism …

McAuliffe wins big in Virginia  —  McLEAN, Va. — Terry McAuliffe's comeback bid aced its first test Tuesday, as the former Virginia governor cruised to victory in the state's Democratic gubernatorial primary.  —  He easily defeated his two main rivals, former state Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy …

Trump backers lose big as Ciattarelli claims GOP nomination in N.J.  —  SOMERSET, N.J. — New Jersey Republicans looked past Donald Trump Tuesday, nominating a challenger to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy who once called the former president a “charlatan” and later acknowledged Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election.

So What The Hell Do We Do Now?  (Joe Manchin Edition)  —  If you had the misfortune of being online this weekend, you might have seen Senator Manchin's op-ed explaining his opposition to the For the People Act (here).  The piece is riddled with historical falsehoods and bizarre, antiquated political analysis.

Senate approves sprawling $250 billion bill to curtail China's economic and military ambitions  —  The bill, adopted on a bipartisan vote, invests heavily in U.S. science and technology while threatening a host of punishments against Beijing  —  The Senate voted on Tuesday to adopt …

EXCLUSIVE: Hunter Biden addressed his white lawyer as ‘n***a’ multiple times, used phrases like ‘true dat n***a’ and bantered 'I only love you because you're black,' in shocking texts unearthed days after Joe's emotional Tulsa speech decrying racism  — Text messages obtained …

Kamala Harris gambles with history  —  Six months into her young vice presidency, Kamala Harris has settled into the job.  Taking her oath of office last January, the coronavirus was raging, travel was restricted and few were allowed to work in the White House.

Three Democratic incumbents, one Republican ousted in Virginia House primaries  —  Four Virginia lawmakers who span the political spectrum lost their bids for reelection in Tuesday's primary, with another incumbents fighting for political survival.  —  Del. Lee Carter (D-Manassas) …

Burning the midnight oil: Eric Adams' mysterious whereabouts off the campaign trail  —  Eric Adams announced he was living in Brooklyn Borough Hall to combat Covid last March.  Now it seems he may have never left.  —  The mayoral hopeful has been staying overnight and keeping late-night …

Russian Poet Dmitry Bykov Targeted by Navalny Poisoners  — In a December 2020 investigation, Bellingcat and its partners identified seven FSB officers who had tailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny on more than 35 trips around Russia since early 2017.

Trump Impeachment Lawyers Are Now Representing Capitol Riot Defendants  —  Attorneys Michael van der Veen and Bruce Castor defended former President Donald Trump at his Senate impeachment trial for allegedly inciting the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection.  —  Even as van der Veen …

Biden quietly moves to start closing Guantánamo ahead of 20th anniversary of 9/11 … WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has quietly begun efforts to close the U.S. detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, using an under-the-radar approach to minimize political blowback …

Republicans Are Turning America Into a ‘Democracy With Asterisks’  —  Mr. Edsall contributes a weekly column from Washington, D.C. on politics, demographics and inequality.  —  Determined to enforce white political dominance in pivotal states like Georgia, Arizona, Texas and North Carolina …

Republican victories in South Texas prove once again that demographics aren't everything  —  Republicans picked up a victory in a heavily Hispanic Texas border city in yet another race that proves demographics are not the be-all and end-all in politics.  —  The border-town victory for the GOP …

Netanyahu's Trump-style campaign to stop Israel's transfer of power  —  On the verge of being replaced after 12 years in power, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is waging a desperate, Trump-style campaign to de-legitimize the incoming government and accuse its leaders of perpetrating “the fraud of the century.”

The Criminals Thought the Devices Were Secure.  But the Seller Was the F.B.I.  —  Global law enforcement officials revealed a three-year operation in which they said they had intercepted over 20 million messages.  Hundreds of arrests were made in more than a dozen countries.

Losing a Friend over Politics  —  Although political disagreements are common, few Americans report having stopped talking to or being friends with someone because of their views about government or politics.  Only 15 percent of the public have ended a friendship over politics.

Farewell, Millennial Lifestyle Subsidy  —  The price for Ubers, scooters and Airbnb rentals is going up as tech companies aim for profitability.  —  A few years ago, while on a work trip in Los Angeles, I hailed an Uber for a crosstown ride during rush hour.

When the State Comes for Your Kids  —  Social workers, youth shelters, and the threat to parents' rights  —  Ahmed is a Pakistani immigrant, a faithful Muslim, and until recently, a financial consultant to Seattle's high-tech sector.  But when he reached me by phone in October 2020, he was just one more frightened father.

Val Demings launches 2022 campaign for Senate against Marco Rubio  —  Saying she's ready for a “tough fight,” Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Demings of Orlando officially launched Wednesday her campaign to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio next year.  —  “I know how to get through tough times …

For Asian Americans Wary of Attacks, Reopening Is Not an Option  —  Facing a wave of animosity, many Asian Americans remain afraid of public places even as the coronavirus pandemic recedes.  —  Millions of Americans may be leaping into a summer of newly unmasked normalcy.

Not far from Tulsa, a quieter but consequential correction of the historical record  —  In recent weeks, the country has been focused, appropriately, on the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre.  Less than a day's drive to the southeast, meanwhile, another long-overdue reckoning …

Pretending that what's happening isn't happening  —  I want to highlight a comment DamnYankeesLGM made in Scott's post about Merrick Garland's decision to have the DOJ continue to substitute the United States for Donald Trump as the defendant in E. Jean Carroll's lawsuit.