Manchin's next power play  —  Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), America's ultimate swing voter, told me on “Axios on HBO” that he'll insist Republicans have more of a voice on President Biden's next big package than they did on the COVID stimulus.  —  The big picture: Manchin said he'll push …

Graham deals with Trump “dark side” to “harness the magic”  —  Sen. Lindsey Graham told “Axios on HBO” that Donald Trump has a “dark side” but he tries to “harness the magic” because he succeeded where Republican candidates like John McCain and Mitt Romney failed.

Biden Will Establish A Gender Policy Council Within The White House  —  President Biden will mark International Women's Day on Monday by signing two executive orders geared toward promoting gender equity, both in the United States and around the world.  —  According to an administration official speaking …

Pence to give speech in SC, his 1st since leaving office  —  COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — In his first public address since the end of the Trump administration, former Vice President Mike Pence is traveling to South Carolina, set to speak to a conservative Christian nonprofit in the state that plays …

Josh Hawley Is ‘Not Going Anywhere.’ How Did He Get Here?  —  The senator's objection to the election results surprised some supporters.  But interviews with dozens of people close to him show his growing comfort with doing what it takes to hold on to power.

Meet the GOP voters who could decide whether the U.S. reaches herd immunity  —  Almost one-third of Republicans tell pollsters they 'definitely won't' get vaccinated.  —  Margaret, an 80-year-old retiree who lives outside Tulsa, has spent the past year living in fear of the coronavirus.

“They Thought They Had Identified Another Political Star”: Sources Say Andrew Cuomo's Tortured Pandemic Memoir Fetched a Seven-Figure Advance  —  Crown shelled out a hefty sum for Cuomo's COVID-19 victory lap, industry sources say.  But since the governor became subsumed in scandal, sales have started to lag.

Diplomats Warned of a Coronavirus Danger in Wuhan—2 Years Before the Outbreak  —  On January 15, in its last days, President Donald Trump's State Department put out a statement with serious claims about the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.  The statement said the U.S. intelligence community …

What Is Happening to the Republicans?  —  In becoming the party of Trump, the G.O.P. confronts the kind of existential crisis that has destroyed American parties in the past.  —  One of the oldest imperatives of American electoral politics is to define your opponents before they can define themselves.

Hitting Woke Herd Immunity?  —  We have become an absurd society obsessed with race but without any mechanism to develop a logical category of victimization and reparation.  —  Two recent polls suggest wokism is beginning to recede on a variety of fronts, from less trust in Black Lives Matter …

POLITICO Playbook: Does Fox care more about Dr. Seuss or stopping Biden's agenda?  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  Congress is about to pass and President JOE BIDEN is about to sign into law the greatest expansion of the welfare state since LBJ.  —  The bill extends far beyond stimulus payments …

End the victimized culture of grievance  —  He is a victim; she is a victim.  All those people over there are victims, too.  —  History will use the term “victimology” to describe the pervasive cultural doctrine of the early 21st century.  —  By “victimology,” they won't mean …

The stimulus shows why the left should stop worrying and learn to love the suburban voter  —  Contrary to the left's fears, the road to redistribution runs through the suburbs.  —  SHARE All sharing options  —  Democrats passed an unapologetically progressive stimulus bill through the Senate this weekend …

Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, Ex-Wife of Jeff Bezos, Marries Seattle School Teacher  —  Ms. Scott, one of the world's wealthiest women, has married Dan Jewett, a science teacher at a private school  —  MacKenzie Scott, the philanthropist formerly married to Jeff Bezos …

Kyrsten Sinema and the Thumbs-Down That Enraged the Left  —  The Arizona Democrat, one of a handful of moderate senators who hold heavy sway over President Biden's agenda, has come under mounting pressure for her opposition to liberal priorities.  —  WASHINGTON — When Senator Kyrsten Sinema stepped onto …

Accountant faces pressure to turn on Trump in criminal probe  —  (Reuters) - When lawyers asked Donald Trump more than a decade ago to identify who estimated values on some of his signature properties, he shrugged and pointed to his longtime accountant, Allen Weisselberg.

They Had a Fun Pandemic.  You Can Read About It in Print.  —  A downtown New York crowd is pushing back against the homogenization of big social media.  —  Honor Levy, 23, with a piece of fiction published on The New Yorker's website and a short story collection coming out next year …

Switzerland referendum: Voters support ban on face coverings in public  —  Switzerland has narrowly voted in favour of banning face coverings in public, including the burka or niqab worn by Muslim women.  —  Official results showed the measure had passed by 51.2% to 48.8% in Sunday's referendum.

An FBI official told Congress the bureau can't monitor Americans' social media.  That's not true.  —  WASHINGTON — A senator had a simple question for the FBI's counterterrorism chief at a hearing last week about the Capitol riot.  —  Didn't the FBI see all those postings by extremists …

Inside a Long, Messy Year of Reopening Schools … Last month in Chicago, after months of heated negotiations, the teachers union and Chicago Public Schools emerged with one of the most detailed school reopening agreements in the nation.  Brad Marianno, an education policy professor …

Do We Even Have A Republic Anymore?  —  The idea of a republic is that the people, through their representatives, get to make the laws that govern the country, but it appears that's no longer a thing.  What if you made a law, and no one enforced it?  Is there even any point to the exercise?

68% of Americans Support Biden's Pandemic Response, Most Say Lifting Restrictions Too Fast: Poll  —  More than two-thirds of Americans approve of President Joe Biden's response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to an ABC News/Ipsos poll released Sunday.

Hawley becomes GOP cash cow despite Jan. 6 blowback  —  Sen. Josh Hawley's effort to block certification of the 2020 election has been a fundraising boon — not just for him but his party, Axios has learned.  —  Why it matters: Corporate donors and establishment Republicans recoiled …

In Unearthed Audio, Laura Loomer Calls Herself ‘Pro-White Nationalism’  —  In December 2017, anti-Muslim activist Laura Loomer appeared on a podcast for the white supremacist website Amerika.  In unearthed audio, Loomer can be heard making racist and demeaning comments about Muslims and Palestinians.

Texas shows the way on COVID rationality  —  Last week, a US state decided to throw off the shackles of prolonged pandemic restrictions that have done very little good and much harm.  That state will reopen libraries, museums, houses of worship and most businesses at full capacity.  —  No uproar ensued.