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Democrats to introduce bill to expand Supreme Court from 9 to 13 justices — WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats will introduce legislation Thursday to expand the Supreme Court from nine to 13 justices, alongside progressive activists pushing to transform the high court.
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POLITICUSUSA, Talking Points Memo, OutKick, HotAir, Real America's Voice News, Townhall, KHON2, Washington Examiner, TheBlaze, Current, Insider and The Week
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House and Senate Democrats Plan Bill to Add Four Justices to Supreme Court … Congressional Democrats plan to unveil legislation expanding the size of the Supreme Court on Thursday, according to three congressional sources familiar with the closely held measure.
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BizPac Review, Raw Story, Charlie Kirk, Breitbart, USA Today, Twitchy, CD Media, The Gateway Pundit, Liberty Unyielding, The Sun, Fox News, Mediaite, The RFAngle, New York Post and Todd Starnes

A new bill would add 4 seats to the Supreme Court — It's on! — Four Democratic members of Congress plan to introduce legislation that would add four seats to the Supreme Court, which would, if passed, allow President Biden to immediately name four individuals to fill those seats and give Democrats a 7-6 majority.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars and Fox News

‘Frankly, I Think Everyone Is Baffled’: Searching For Clues In SCOTUS' Abortion Silence — When Justice Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court in October 2020, the anti-abortion community celebrated the beginning of a new era. The Court would now be heavily skewed to the right …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Arkansas Online, Washington Free Beacon, Fox News and Politico

Democratic Lawmakers to Present Plan to Expand Supreme Court — Initiative runs counter to Biden administration's commission on overhauling court after three conservative Trump appointments — WASHINGTON—Democratic lawmakers plan to introduce legislation on Thursday that would add four seats …
Discussion:
Politico, The Guardian, HotAir, National Review and Washington Times
Edmund DeMarche / Fox News:
Cotton says Dems will do anything for power amid Supreme Court packing move
Cotton says Dems will do anything for power amid Supreme Court packing move
Discussion:
Politico, CBS News, RedState, Florida Politics, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Post

Biden Finally Got to Say No to the Generals — Critics be damned, the President is ending the Forever War waged by Bush, Obama, and Trump in Afghanistan. — On Wednesday, Joe Biden announced the close of the two-decade-long American war in Afghanistan, giving the U.S. military a deadline …
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Reuters, Real Clear Politics, The Federalist, Bloomberg, New York Times, The Bulwark, NBC News, Insider, The American Conservative and DCReport.org
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Blinken visits Afghanistan after Biden's withdrawal decision to press for diplomacy
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CBS News, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Associated Press, NBC News, CNN, NPR and The Federalist
Washington Post:
For Afghanistan veterans, old feelings of frustration and loss surface as the U.S. prepares to end its longest war
For Afghanistan veterans, old feelings of frustration and loss surface as the U.S. prepares to end its longest war
Discussion:
The Week
Politico:
How Biden's team overrode the brass on Afghanistan
How Biden's team overrode the brass on Afghanistan
Discussion:
Washington Post, Forbes, Responsible Statecraft, UPI, Associated Press, National Review and Mediaite
Kevin Baron / Defense One:
Petraeus Trashes Biden Decision to Quit Afghanistan
Petraeus Trashes Biden Decision to Quit Afghanistan
Discussion:
Washington Post, Breitbart, Summit News, The Sun, Fox News, Slate and Washington Examiner

Matt Gaetz's Wingman Paid Dozens of Young Women—and a 17-Year-Old — VEN-UH-OH … Venmo payment records reveal a vast network of young women received money from Rep. Matt Gaetz's associate, the accused sex trafficker Joel Greenberg. — As new details emerge about Rep. Matt Gaetz's role …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, HotAir, The Week, HuffPost, Florida Politics, Raw Story, Insider, Fortune, The Wrap, Mic, The Intellectualist, IJR, Alternet.org and Daily Kos
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Rep. Matt Gaetz announces ad buy to ‘fight back’ against CNN, allegations — Rep. Matt Gaetz on Wednesday announced a six-figure ad buy for a spot that targets CNN, as he fights to save his political career amid sexual trafficking allegations. — The new 30-second ad will be featured …
Discussion:
The Hill, POLITICUSUSA, Forbes, Raw Story, Florida Politics, The Intellectualist and Law & Crime

Biden to Hit Putin With Russia Sanctions After Summit Offer — Moves coming as soon as Thursday, days after Biden-Putin call — U.S. to target individuals, further plans to include debt — The Biden administration is poised to impose a raft of new sanctions on Russia …
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The Sun, Insider, Raw Story, New York Post and The Week
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Biden Administration to Impose Tough Sanctions on Russia — Administration officials were determined to draft a response that would impose real costs on Moscow, as many previous rounds of sanctions have been shrugged off. — WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is set to announce …
Discussion:
РБК

U.S. to Sanction Russia, Expel Diplomats Over Alleged Election Interference, Hacking
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Week, РБК, TASS, Reuters and Political Wire

Western Warnings Tarnish Covid Vaccines the World Badly Needs — Amid a deep residue of mistrust, American and European cautions on the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines risk igniting anti-vaccine fervor in the global south. — Safety worries about the AstraZeneca …
Discussion:
Marginal REVOLUTION and Kevin Drum
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The Most Popular J&J Vaccine Story On Facebook? A Conspiracy Theorist Posted It
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Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Media Matters for America and HotAir, more at Mediagazer »
Russ Bynum / Associated Press:
Red states on U.S. electoral map lagging on vaccinations
Red states on U.S. electoral map lagging on vaccinations
Discussion:
Washington Post
Graeme Wood / The Atlantic:
The J&J Vaccine Is Not a Tainted Cantaloupe
The J&J Vaccine Is Not a Tainted Cantaloupe
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, MIT Technology Review, CNBC, HotAir, KDFX-TV and Kaiser Health News

Warnock off to a fast fundraising start for 2022 Senate re-election race — U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock has hardly slowed his torrid fundraising pace since his narrow January runoff victory. — The Democrat's campaign said Thursday he raised more than $5.7 million from more than 101,000 …
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Shades of 2016: Republicans Stay Silent on Trump, Hoping He Fades Away — Just like when Donald J. Trump was a candidate in 2016, rival Republicans are trying to avoid becoming the target of his attacks or directly confronting him, while hoping someone else will.
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Pennsylvania GOP launches ‘super MAGA Trump’ primary
Discussion:
Political Wire
Josh Feldman / Mediaite:
Liz Cheney Bluntly Says on Fox News She ‘Would Not’ Support Trump If He Was the 2024 GOP Nominee
Liz Cheney Bluntly Says on Fox News She ‘Would Not’ Support Trump If He Was the 2024 GOP Nominee
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner, POLITICUSUSA, IJR and Insider

Officer arrested, charged with second-degree manslaughter in killing of Daunte Wright — The charge carries maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. — TEXT SIZE — MORE — Former Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly A. Potter was arrested late Wednesday morning at the offices …
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Minnesota Reformer, USA Today, NPR, Washington Examiner, Power Line, wabe.org, Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Insider and UPI
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April Ryan / TheGrio:
Vice President Kamala Harris weighs in on gun vs. Taser debate in Daunte Wright shooting
Vice President Kamala Harris weighs in on gun vs. Taser debate in Daunte Wright shooting
Discussion:
Snopes.com

Introducing the 2021 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index — The Cook Political Report is pleased to introduce the post-2020 edition of the Partisan Voter Index (PVI) for all 50 states and 435 congressional districts. Although these district boundaries won't be in place …
Discussion:
Political Wire

17 requests for backup in 78 minutes — A reconstruction shows how failures of planning and preparation left police at the Capitol severely disadvantaged on Jan. 6 — At 1:13 p.m. on Jan. 6, a D.C. police commander facing a swelling crowd of protesters on the west side of the U.S. Capitol …

The Promise and the Tragedy of Biden's Afghanistan Speech — Joe Biden gave the most forthright antiwar argument of any post-9/11 president. Then he spared the broader War on Terror from its implications. — BEAST INSIDE — In many ways, Joe Biden's speech outlining a final withdrawal …
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The strange death of the Democrats — The party will decline because it has a demographic problem — The Democratic party is dying. That may be hard to believe since Democrats control both houses of Congress and won the last presidential election with a record 81 million votes.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Insider

Biden Receives High Marks On Pandemic, Low Score On Mexican Border Situation, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Infrastructure Plan Is More Popular If Corporate Taxes Fund It — As President Joe Biden approaches his 100th day in office, he receives a positive 48 - 42 percent job approval rating …
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Monmouth University …, New York Times, Washington Post, Roll Call, The Daily Poster, USA Today, The Hill and Bloomberg

The GOP's most important votes: 2 Democrats — Keep Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema close and publicly praise them, Mitch McConnell explained, because they could “save this institution.” — Though moderation and deep relationships with the GOP unite them, Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin have yin-and-yang personalities.
Discussion:
The Hill
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