Can Democrats exercise a mini-nuclear option against McConnell?  —  The standoff in the Senate continues: Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is demanding that Democrats agree in advance to keep the legislative filibuster in place and is refusing to allow Senate business to proceed until they do.

Biden tells CNN Trump's impeachment trial ‘has to happen’  —  (CNN)President Joe Biden on Monday offered his most extensive comments since taking office on former President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, telling CNN, “I think it has to happen.”  —  Biden made the comment during a brief …

Apollo C.E.O. to Step Down After Firm Finds More Payments to Jeffrey Epstein  —  An inquiry's finding that Leon Black, the billionaire boss of Apollo Global Management, paid the convicted sex offender $150 million touched off an attempt to remove him.  —  The founders of Apollo Global Management …

Rupert Murdoch, Accepting Award, Condemns ‘Awful Woke Orthodoxy’  —  Mr. Murdoch of News Corp, who spoke in a video, has been relatively quiet publicly in recent years.  He called conformity on social media “a straitjacket on sensibility.”  —  The media mogul Rupert Murdoch denounced an …

As Trump Seeks to Remain a Political Force, New Targets Emerge  —  As Donald Trump surveys the political landscape, there is a sudden Senate opening in Ohio, an ally's bid for Arkansas governor, and some scores to settle elsewhere.  —  Former President Donald J. Trump …

Majority Support Trump Impeachment  —  Belief that voter fraud led to Biden win persists among 1 in 3  —  West Long Branch, NJ - A clear majority of Americans support the second impeachment of former president Donald Trump.  A majority also wants the Senate to convict him and bar …

Meet the Woman Behind Salon's Sloppy Tom Cotton Piece  —  Something funny happened when Sen. Tom Cotton's (R., Ark.) aides received a request for comment from intrepid Salon reporter Roger Sollenberger.  —  Cotton's team, which shared the email correspondence with the Washington Free Beacon …

Biden to tap nurse as acting surgeon general  —  Susan Orsega would be among the first nurses to serve in the role of 'the nation's doctor'  —  The Biden administration has selected nurse Susan Orsega to serve as the nation's acting surgeon general, said two people with knowledge of her selection …

Feds Arrest Man Who Wore His High School Varsity Jacket To The Capitol Siege  —  “We all stormed the us capital and tried to take over the government,” he wrote.  “We failed but f**k it.”  —  Federal authorities have charged a New York man in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol …

Iowa Senate leaders change virtual meeting policy after ‘pornographic’ Zoom incident  —  Republicans in the Iowa Senate said they have changed their policy for participants in virtual subcommittee meetings after an incident that was “pornographic in nature” during a Monday morning hearing.

Right-Wing Activist Banned From Airline for Not Wearing Mask Is Charged in Capitol Riots  —  Brandon Straka founded the “WalkAway Campaign,” urging liberals to ditch the Democratic Party.  —  A right-wing activist known for his unwavering support for former President Trump has been charged for participation in the Capitol riots.

Dr. Anthony Fauci: The Highest Paid Employee In The Entire U.S. Federal Government  —  Dr. Anthony Fauci made $417,608 in 2019, the latest year for which federal salaries are available.  That made him not only the highest paid doctor in the federal government, but the highest paid out of all four million federal employees.

Woman Accused of Stealing Laptop from Nancy Pelosi's Office May Lose Internet Access as Feds Allege Deepening Cover-Up  —  The woman alleged to have stolen a laptop from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office during the U.S. Capitol insurrection may have encouraged others to destroy evidence …

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Unlikely to Run for Fourth Term  —  The Democrat has raised little money and hasn't campaigned ahead of a June Democratic primary  —  In the past year, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. has raised only a few thousand dollars for his re-election.

This D.C. neighborhood has quietly become a national model for resisting gentrification  —  How one D.C. neighborhood quietly became a national model for resisting gentrification  —  On Monday afternoon, June 1, the city of Washington was on the brink of a nervous breakdown.

“Fight for Trump”: Video Evidence of Incitement at the Capitol  —  How direct is the connection between what President Donald Trump communicated to his supporters and their actions in laying siege to the U.S. Capitol?  Videos recorded by many individuals over the course of the day provide some answers.

Janet Yellen confirmed as Treasury secretary  —  The Senate voted 84-15 to confirm Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary on Monday.  —  Why it matters: Yellen is the first woman to serve as Treasury secretary, a Cabinet position that will be crucial in helping steer the country out of the pandemic-induced economic crisis.

Pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood fired by teen who faced off with Native American in viral video  —  BOSTON (Reuters) - A Kentucky teenager whose 2019 face-off with a Native American activist in Washington went viral has fired his lawyer, a man who played a key role in Donald Trump's attempts …

Harris County judge dismisses vaccine theft charge against doctor, blasts DA for bringing the case  —  Dr. Hasan Gokal was fired by Harris County Public Health and charged with misdemeanor theft after he admitted taking leftover doses of COVID-19 vaccine and administering them to nine people.

Ohio's U.S. Sen. Rob Portman won't run for re-election; Republican cites ‘partisan gridlock’  —  Republican Rob Portman will not seek a third term in the U.S. Senate in 2022, he told The Enquirer - a move that will unsettle politics in both Greater Cincinnati and Washington D.C.

100+ Politico Staffers Send Letter to Publisher Railing Against Publishing Ben Shapiro  —  The signees called out their top editor's response to internal critics, and reiterated that a firebrand like Shapiro does nothing to advance Politico's editorial values.  —  BEAST INSIDE

What If Deplorables Start “De-Platforming” Leftists From Receiving Skilled Trade Services?  —  If Monster Tech can aggressively de-platform businesses and individuals for expressing forbidden opinions, then maybe it's time for skilled tradesmen to respond in kind against the woke left.

Former Voice of America overseer hired two law firms to $4 million no-bid contracts.  —  The former head of Voice of America's parent agency hired two law firms to open-ended, no-bid contracts, including one specifying that top lawyers would earn $1,470 per hour, according to documents and people familiar with the matter.

It's not just Trump on trial.  It's the whole Republican Party.  —  When the impeachment proceedings begin in the Senate, it will not be just Donald Trump in the dock.  The entire Republican Party will be on trial.  And there is every reason to believe that the GOP will fail this test …

Our Radicalized Republic  —  Four years ago, Lilliana Mason learned something she really, really hoped wasn't true.  A political scientist who studies Americans' attitudes about politics and each other, she had long known that the citizens of this country were growing increasingly resentful …

Meet Trump's Pro-Insurrection “Intellectuals”  —  We should have known January 6 was coming, because Trumpism's “intellectual” wing called for it, for weeks.  —  Last December, Ross Douthat suggested that “there are two Republican Parties.”  One of them governs dutifully, “certifying elections …

QAnon Thinks Trump Will Become President Again on March 4  —  QAnon has started to merge with even more extreme conspiracy theories, including the “sovereign citizen” movement.  —  DG  —  Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 19th president of the United States on March 4, 2021.

Rudy Giuliani Sued by Dominion Voting Systems Over False Election Claims  —  The suit against Mr. Giuliani, a lawyer for former President Donald Trump who pushed to overturn the election results, accuses him of carrying out “a viral disinformation campaign.”

National Park Service spent 4,000 hours working on Trump's RNC fireworks show  —  Nikhel Sus, Linnaea Honl-Stuenkel, and Walker Davis … National Park Service employees spent nearly 4,000 hours working on the Republican National Convention's massive pro-Trump fireworks show at the National Mall …

Journalists Mobilize Against Free Speech  —  A new generation of media crusaders clamors for government control over what you see, hear, and read—and for banning their competition

Dr. Fauci: Double-masking makes ‘common sense’ and is likely more effective  —  Dr. Fauci says it's ‘common sense’ to wear two masks instead of one  —  Could wearing two face masks at once during the pandemic provide more protection than just wearing one?  According to White House advisor …

Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Announces Initiation of Investigation  —  Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz announced today that:  —  The DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is initiating an investigation into whether any former …