Chris Christie, unplugged  —  Good morning, Early Birds.  We hope your allergies aren't as bad as ours, but sorry to be the bearer of bad news: The tree and grass pollen count in D.C. today is “high.”  Tips: earlytips@washpost.com.  Was this forwarded to you?  Sign up here.  Thanks for waking up with us.

How “The Nelson Mandela of America” Is Making Bank Off of His Criminal Trial  —  IN THE FIRST WEEK OF HIS CRIMINAL TRIAL, Donald Trump raised about $5.6 million online by warning his small dollar-donors that the “Deep State” was out to lock him up.  —  “I JUST STORMED INTO COURT,” …

GOP senator: Greene ‘dragging our brand down’  —  Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) took a shot at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) Tuesday, saying she is “dragging our brand down.”  —  “She is a horrible leader,” Tillis said of Greene, according to audio played on CNN's “Erin Burnett OutFront.”

Senate passes TikTok ban bill, sending it to President Biden's desk … A bill that would force China-based company ByteDance to sell TikTok — or else face a US ban of the platform — is all but certain to become law after the Senate passed a foreign aid package including the measure.

Live updates Supreme Court hears arguments in case over emergency abortion care  —  The Supreme Court is currently hearing arguments Wednesday over whether the federal government has the power to penalize hospitals that fail to provide emergency abortions even in states with strict bans on the procedure.

How McConnell and Schumer beat hardline conservatives on Ukraine  —  The two Senate leaders and the White House worked tirelessly for the better part of a year to get direly needed aid for Ukraine.  It finally paid off.  —  Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden might have been in lockstep …

The Man Who Killed Google Search  —  This is the story of how Google Search died, and the people responsible for killing it.  —  The story begins on February 5th 2019, when Ben Gomes, Google's head of search, had a problem. … For those unfamiliar with Google's internal scientology-esque jargon, let me explain.

Alabama Senate passes measure ensuring Biden can be on ballot  —  The Alabama State Senate unanimously approved a measure Tuesday that would ensure President Biden can be on the state's ballot in November, after a state elections official warned that he may miss the deadline to qualify.

U.S. bans noncompete agreements for nearly all jobs  —  The Federal Trade Commission narrowly voted Tuesday to ban nearly all noncompetes, employment agreements that typically prevent workers from joining competing businesses or launching ones of their own.  —  The FTC received …

George W. Bush was a terrible president  —  Looking back at the last — disastrous — era of efficacious conservative policymaking  —  If you're in the DC area, I'm hosting a book talk for Daniel Schlozman and Sam Rosenfeld about their new book “The Hollow Parties: The Many Pasts and Disordered Present of American Party Politics.”

Biden's Gains Against Trump Vanish on Deep Economic Pessimism, Poll Shows  —  The president is trailing Donald Trump in six of seven swing states as a majority of poll respondents see the economy worsening by the end of the year.  —  President Joe Biden's recent polling bump in key battleground states …

Trump keeps begging for a “rally behind MAGA” — but his supporters aren't showing up to court  —  It's not just that Fox News told them entering New York results in instant murder  —  Donald Trump can't decide how he wants his supporters to feel about the scene outside of the Manhattan courtroom …

Trump's New Legal Bills Are Hiding an $8 Million Mystery  —  CONCEALED CARRY  —  Trump is using a GOP compliance firm as a go-between to pay lawyers, allowing him to hide who he's actually paying.  Experts have real questions whether he can do that.

Biden administration makes it easier for flyers to get refunds  —  The rule comes after more than a year of promises by the administration to shore up protections for air passengers.  —  Passengers whose flights are canceled or “significantly” delayed won't have to fight to get a cash refund …

The press helps MAGA target jurors.  And it's not just Fox.  —  PN is a reader-supported publication made possible by paid subscribers.  If you aren't one, please click the button to support our independent journalism.  —  📺 Subscribe to Public Notice 📺

Trump Diapers Would Be a MAGA Phenomenon  —  YUGER THAN TRUMP STEAKS  —  My business advice to the ex-president, who's having a tough time sitting all day in the courtroom. … Dear (former, best ever) President Donald Trump,  —  We've had our disagreements over the years, some of them pretty bigly.

How the House GOP's Biden impeachment effort fell apart  —  House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer was eager to take the reins of a high-stakes investigation into President Joe Biden and his family, seen as central to the House Republican agenda - a coveted perch that brought the added benefit of elevating his national profile.

I'm a Columbia Professor.  The Protests on My Campus Are Not Justice.  —  Last Thursday, in the music humanities class I teach at Columbia University, two students were giving an in-class presentation on the composer John Cage.  His most famous piece is “4'33”," which directs us to listen …