Sinema Slammed For Exaggerated Thumbs-Down On $15 Minimum Wage  —  Hand gestures are commonplace in the Senate, but Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is getting flack for the way she voted against a $15 minimum wage.  —  Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) faced criticism Friday afternoon for the way in which she chose …

F.B.I. Finds Contact Between Proud Boys Member and Trump Associate Before Riot  —  A leader of the far-right group separately said he had been in touch with Roger Stone, but an official said it was not the same contact investigators found through electronic communications records.

Cuomo Is Told to Preserve Records at Issue in Sexual Harassment Inquiry  —  The directive came as Mr. Cuomo faced a new accusation that an aide had completed the sexual harassment training he was required to undergo for him.  —  ALBANY, N.Y. — As she closes in on the selection …

Ron Johnson: No decision on 2022 run but leaving office is ‘probably my preference now’  —  U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, who has taken center stage this week in the U.S. Senate debate over a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 bill, said he hasn't yet decided whether he'll run for his seat in 2022 …

Capitol riot shaman's TV interview irks judge  —  The lawyer for the horned shaman who became one of the most iconic figures involved in the storming of the Capitol in January is in hot water with a federal judge after facilitating an interview that the judge said violated federal rules.

State Department aide appointed by Trump stormed the Capitol, beat police with a riot shield, FBI says  —  On Thursday, the FBI arrested a political appointee of former president Donald Trump on charges that he stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, according to a criminal complaint …

Senate Democrats announce deal on unemployment insurance, allowing Biden bill to move forward  —  Deal reached after nine-hour stand-off stalled action on Biden's $1.9 trillion relief bill  —  Senate Democratic leaders reached an agreement over unemployment benefits with moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin …

GOP groups quiet as billionaire donor stands accused of running biggest tax fraud scheme ever  — The billionaire accused of running the biggest tax fraud scheme in U.S. history was a prolific donor to Republican groups and causes.  — The leaders of those organizations have kept quiet on the accusations against him.

Charles Barkley fears hora at daughter's Jewish wedding  —  Basketball star tells Jimmy Kimmel he's been trying to lose weight 'because apparently they've got to pick me up in a chair.  Listen, I need all Jewish people on deck'  —  JTA — NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is looking forward …

AP-NORC poll: Americans largely back Biden's virus response  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden is enjoying an early presidential honeymoon, with 60% of Americans approving of his job performance thus far and even more backing his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new poll …

Whitmer kidnapping plot hearing live feed: Confidential FBI informant testifies  —  Joe Guillen Omar Abdel-BaquiDetroit Free Press  —  A confidential FBI informant testified Friday in a Jackson court about being embedded for months alongside leaders of a group accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

For top budget job, Biden hesitates at naming a candidate who has bipartisan support  —  As the White House seeks to fill a critical vacancy, there's a clear public front-runner to be President Biden's budget chief: Shalanda Young, a widely respected former congressional aide who has been endorsed …

Rudy Giuliani, After Blowing Past Deadline to Respond to Dominion's Billion-Dollar Lawsuit, Personally Asks for Extension  —  Despite publicly welcoming a court fight over his false claims about voting machines being used to steal the 2020 election from Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani doesn't seem …

As the Insurrection Narrative Crumbles, Democrats Cling to it More Desperately Than Ever  —  If the threat of “armed insurrectionists” and “domestic terrorists” is as great as some claim, why do they have to keep lying and peddling crude media fictions about it?  —  3 hr ago

CDC lets child migrant shelters fill to 100% despite COVID concern  —  The Centers for Disease Control is allowing shelters handling child migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border to expand to full capacity, abandoning a requirement that they stay near 50% to inhibit the spread of the coronavirus, Axios has learned.

U.S. Chamber decides against political ban for Capitol insurrection  —  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce revealed Friday it won't withhold political donations from lawmakers who simply voted against certifying the presidential election results and instead decide on a case-by-case basis.

Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren quietly releases massive social media report on GOP colleagues who voted to overturn the election  —  Washington (CNN)Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren has quietly posted a nearly 2,000-page report documenting social media posts by her Republican colleagues who voted …

Biden Moves to Fire EEOC Top Lawyer Who Wouldn't Resign  — General Counsel Sharon Gustafson took office in 2019  — Republican attorney's term would have ended in 2023  —  President Joe Biden was to fire Sharon Gustafson, the Trump-appointed general counsel of the EEOC, at 5 p.m. Friday …

Revealed: The Star-Spangled Trumper Filmed Attacking Cops At The Capitol  —  Robert Scott Palmer assaulted police with a fire extinguisher on Jan. 6 — and he's still at large.  Meet one of the online sleuths working to change that.  —  With bright red and white stripes across his body …

Former astronaut mulling Senate run in North Carolina  —  Joan Higginbotham, right, waves as other crew members look on while she is introduced during a Space Day celebration event at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum May 5, 2005 in Chantilly, Va. |  Joan Higginbotham, a former NASA astronaut …

Biden has decided not to wage war on ‘Neanderthal’ GOP governors.  Here's why.  —  This week, after President Biden slammed GOP governors for “Neanderthal thinking” over their suspensions of mask mandates, a whole lot of Republicans pretended to be outraged.  And a whole lot of folks in the media pretended to believe them.

Giuliani probe awaits Garland as he nears AG confirmation  —  NEW YORK (AP) — With Merrick Garland poised to be confirmed as attorney general as early as next week, one of the first major questions he is likely to encounter is what to do about Rudy Giuliani.

Detroit Mayor Duggan doubles down on not wanting J&J vaccine for ‘foreseeable future’  — City rejects 6,200 Johnson & Johnson vaccines; that amount not replaced with Moderna, Pfizer  — Duggan said city's vaccination program is humming along and he wants Detroiters to get the best vaccine

Republicans demand hearing into Cuomo nursing home scandal  —  Cuomo's top advisers reportedly influenced health officials to remove data from a report on nursing home deaths  —  Fox News Flash top headlines for March 5  —  In the face of reporting that Governor Andrew Cuomo's top advisors …

Texas Opts Not to Fix $16 Billion Power Overcharge  —  Utility commission says repricing power markets too difficult, despite recommendation that overcharges during storm be reversed  —  The Public Utility Commission of Texas on Friday signaled it didn't intend to reverse $16 billion …

Rachel Powell, Capitol Rioter Known as ‘Bullhorn Lady,’ Indicted by Grand Jury  —  A D.C. grand jury has indicted a Pennsylvania mother-of-eight over her alleged participation in the storming of the U.S. Capitol building.  —  Rachel Powell, of Mercer County, was indicted by a grand jury in Washington …

The Navy tried to cast Capt. Brett Crozier as a villain.  New emails reveal how much support he really had  —  The Navy has repeatedly blamed Capt. Brett Crozier for the unprecedented novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt last year …

Kanye's Zombie Campaign Attracts Teen Donors—and Feds' Scrutiny  —  GENIUS  —  “In five-plus years of doing this I've never come across something like this,” said Jordan Libowitz, communications director for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics.  —  Former Birthday Party presidential …

At Least 30,000 U.S. Organizations Newly Hacked Via Holes in Microsoft's Email Software  —  At least 30,000 organizations across the United States — including a significant number of small businesses, towns, cities and local governments — have over the past few days been hacked …

The ISIS War Crime Iraqi Turkmen Won't Talk About  —  Jihadists made rape a weapon of their genocidal campaign, but for one ethnic minority in Iraq, it's too painful to discuss  —  Hollie McKay is a journalist and author  —  One crisp afternoon more than three years ago …

POLITICO Playbook PM: Guess who's fundraising for Liz Cheney  —  FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — PAUL RYAN is making clear where he stands in the ongoing intra-GOP battle over what to do about DONALD TRUMP.  Ryan's successor atop the House GOP, KEVIN MCCARTHY, may be walking a narrow line between the pro …

Black People Need Better Vaccine Access, Not Better Vaccine Attitudes  —  The focus on “hesitancy” as the driver of lower Covid-19 vaccination rates misses the real problem, and opportunity.  —  Dr. Boyd is a pediatrician, public health advocate and scholar who writes and teaches about the impacts of racism and inequity on health.