POLITICO Playbook: Democratic impeachment managers feeling muzzled  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  Democrats who've struggled for years to hold DONALD TRUMP accountable are at a crossroads again: Do they go all out to convict Trump by calling a parade of witnesses to testify to his misdeeds?

AP-NORC poll: Few in US say democracy is working very well  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Only a fragment of Americans believe democracy is thriving in the U.S., even as broad majorities agree that representative government is one of the country's bedrock principles, according to a new poll …

Americans' Views of Impeachment, Trump's Record on Issues  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — As former President Donald Trump's second Senate impeachment trial is about to begin, a new Gallup poll finds a slim majority of Americans (52%) saying they would like their senators to vote to convict him.

Inside Bidenworld's plan to punish the GOP for opposing Covid relief  —  Democrats are plowing forward with plans to pass a massive Covid-19 relief package.  And if Republicans don't join them, they won't forget it.  —  Already, there's talk about midterm attack ads portraying Republicans …

In America's ‘Uncivil War,’ Republicans Are The Aggressors  —  In his inaugural address, President Biden described America as in the midst of an “uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal.”  His invocation of a civil war and the American Civil War was provocative.

The Dangers of the Derp State  —  How we became a nation of so many dupes and fools is a matter at least as complicated as the causes of Donald Trump's presidency.  —  1 hr ago  —  One of the aphorisms of our populist era goes that Donald Trump is more of a symptom than a cause.  Fair enough.

The Forces That Stopped Obama's Recovery Will Not Stop Biden's  —  Joe Biden assumed the presidency confronting an economic crisis reminiscent of the one that faced him when he and Barack Obama took office 12 years earlier.  But it is already apparent that the political atmosphere surrounding Biden is unrecognizable.

This Impeachment Is A Disgraceful Sham  —  Your betters want to decide who you can and cannot vote for.  You should be angry.  —  So the petty little fascists in the Democratic Party have decided that their first order of business is telling you who you are allowed to vote for in the future.

U.S. Decision To Reengage with the UN Human Rights Council  —  The Biden administration has recommitted the United States to a foreign policy centered on democracy, human rights, and equality.  Effective use of multilateral tools is an important element of that vision, and in that regard …

Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen, once foes, talk Trump  —  NEW YORK (AP) — When he was Donald Trump's attorney, Michael Cohen was hellbent on silencing Stormy Daniels, even arranging a hush-money payment to the porn actress that landed him in federal prison.

How the ADL's Israel Advocacy Undermines Its Civil Rights Work  —  This report will appear in our Spring 2021 issue.  Subscribe now to get a copy in your mailbox.  —  IN THE SUMMER OF 2016, a handful of senior Anti-Defamation League (ADL) staff members and executives in New York and Washington …

The 3 Worst Things About That Terrible Jeep Super Bowl Ad  —  How could a major corporation not see how propagandistic it comes off to suggest that when Republicans win a national election, that's divisive, but when Democrats win one, that's unifying?  —  In a generally weak year …

False claims hang over a Trump-loving county's plans to buy Dominion voting machines  —  Late last year, amid rampant conspiracy theories of a stolen presidential election, officials in a Trump-loving county in Ohio took a stand: They voted 4 to 0 to buy Dominion voting machines.

Why Matt Duss Matters  —  Christian hostility to Jews draws more attention than Jewish hostility to Christians.  And for good reason.  Christian hostility has produced millennia of persecution.  Jewish hostility, for the most part, hasn't produced much more than the occasional nasty line in a prayerbook …

Capitol Riot Warnings Weren't Acted On as System Failed  —  The federal security apparatus retooled after 9/11 fielded intelligence on the Jan. 6 rally but didn't mobilize to prevent the violence  —  The elaborate national security network set up after the 9/11 terrorist attacks to identify …

Impeachment Trial Puts Trump Back on Center Stage for GOP  —  Senate Republicans face another public test of loyalty to the former president, with their base voters watching closely  —  WASHINGTON—A reporter couldn't even finish saying former President Donald Trump's name before Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas) interrupted mid-question.

Tim Griffin abandons race for governor, to run for attorney general instead  —  The rumor circulated here Saturday was correct: Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin is quitting a race for governor.  —  His announcement early today: … The attorney general, with some limited exceptions, is not a law enforcement agency.

NYC Nursing Home Gave Dozens of Veterans Experimental COVID-19 Treatments.  Some Families Had No Idea  —  This story was produced in collaboration with THE CITY, Columbia Journalism Investigations and Type Investigations as part of “MISSING THEM,” THE CITY's ongoing collaborative project to remember every New Yorker killed by COVID-19.

Big Publishing Pushes Out Trump's Last Fan  —  Top editors at Hachette have told employees that they've learned the lessons of the Capitol siege of Jan. 6: no hate speech, no incitement to violence, no false narratives.  —  If you were a certain kind of distinctly Trumpy public figure …

‘Kill Switch’ Review: When 51 Votes Aren't Enough  —  Harry Reid made frequent use of the filibuster when he led the Senate.  A former Reid staffer is shocked that GOP leaders have done the same.  —  One thing Americans can probably agree on right now is that Americans don't agree on much of anything.

The Republican Party is radicalizing against democracy.  This is the central political fact of our moment.  Instead of organizing its coalition around shared policy goals, the GOP has chosen to emphasize hatred and fear of its political opponents, who—they warn—will destroy their supporters and the country.

Biden says “I hope to God I live up to” the job of being president  —  thIn his first network news interview since being sworn in, President Joe Biden said he “hopes to God that I live up to” the job of being president.  —  Mr. Biden told “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O'Donnell that he …

AFL-CIO head said he wished Biden hadn't canceled Keystone XL on his first day  —  AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said he wished that President Biden hadn't canceled the Keystone XL pipeline project on his first day in office and instead paired it with an announcement about job creation …