BREAKING: Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri acquitted after trial on charges from George Floyd protest in May 2020  —  Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri was acquitted Wednesday in a trial stemming from her arrest covering the George Floyd protests in May 2020.

Senate confirms Garland as attorney general  —  The Senate has confirmed President Joe Biden's pick for attorney general, Judge Merrick Garland, by a vote of 70-30.  —  The victory for Garland, 68, came almost five years after his failed nomination to the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama in 2016.

40 Republicans vote against Greene motion  —  Forty House Republicans on Wednesday voted against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's latest motion to adjourn, yet another sign her party is growing increasingly frustrated with the Georgia Republican's procedural delay tactics.

Somebody's Taking a Huge Risk on Biden's Bill.  It's Not Biden.  —  Try to imagine we are living in the following hypothetical world: A popular Republican president quickly passes emergency legislation that has the support of two-thirds of the country, while Democrats in Congress refuse to vote for it.

Biden and his Covid-relief bill prove popular in new CNN poll  —  (CNN)The economic relief bill moving rapidly through Congress is broadly popular, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS.  —  The popularity of the bill comes as President Joe Biden's approval rating tilts positive around 50 days after he took the oath of office.

America Without God  —  The United States had long been a holdout among Western democracies, uniquely and perhaps even suspiciously devout.  From 1937 to 1998, church membership remained relatively constant, hovering at about 70 percent.  Then something happened.

Jayapal asks for investigations into three GOP members for their role in instigating the Capitol Insurrection  —  GOP lawmaker accused of giving ‘reconnaissance’ tour prior to Capitol riot  —  (CNN)Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington has sent letters to the House Committee on Ethics …

2021 Poverty Projections: Assessing Four American Rescue Plan Policies  —  Abstract  —  Four key elements of the American Rescue Plan Act would reduce the projected poverty rate for 2021 by more than one-third.  In an earlier analysis, we projected that without this legislation, the 2021 annual poverty rate would be 13.7 percent.

Roger Stone's Latest Mess: His Oath Keeper Bodyguards Arrested in Capitol Attack  —  Roger Stone has an Oath Keeper problem.  —  In recent days the FBI arrested two men, Joshua James, the owner of a cleaning services company in Alabama, and Roberto Minuta, a Newburgh, New York, tattoo artist …

Biden Got the Vaccine Rollout Humming, With Trump's Help  —  Trump administration officials grumble that they laid the groundwork for surging vaccinations, but some hard work in the trenches has helped pick up the pace of production.  —  WASHINGTON — When President Biden pledged last week …

Review: Exposing life in the shadows of the United States of Amazon  —  Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America  —  Farrar, Straus & Giroux: 400 pages, $28  —  If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.

Trump's latest explosion of rage against the GOP bodes badly for our future  —  Opinion by  —  In recent days, a few die-hard Republicans have struggled to concoct a way for the GOP to purge itself of Trumpism's worst excesses while retaining its political benefits.

Senate revs its confirmation engine to fill Biden's Cabinet  —  After slow early progress on approving President Joe Biden's Cabinet nominees, the Senate is finally on track to catch up to its pace of confirmations at the beginning of the Trump and Obama administrations.

For Creators, Everything Is for Sale  —  Digital stars are coming up with new ways to make money.  Yet fans still hold the power.  —  A rash of new start-ups are making it easier for digital creators to monetize every aspect of their life — down to what they eat, who they hang out with and who they respond to on TikTok.

How Biden Funds His Next Bill: Shrink the $7.5 Trillion Tax Gap  —  The I.R.S. is often unable to detect or fight blatant tax cheating by the rich and big businesses.  Restoring it is a solution that pays for itself.  —  Ms. Huang is the executive director of the Tax Law Center at the New York University School of Law.

McConnell: Capitol security measures are ‘overreaction’  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that the enhanced security measures currently restricting access to the Capitol are an overreaction given the current threat to the building.  —  “We've overdone it,” McConnell told reporters.

Democrats Are Anxious About 2022 — and 2024  —  The fretting starts with the party's declining share of the Hispanic vote, but it doesn't end there.  —  Mr. Edsall contributes a weekly column from Washington, D.C. on politics, demographics and inequality.

Covid Relief Bill Throws Lifeline to Transform Local News  —  Pension provisions in the $1.9-trillion bill give local news outlets crucial breathing room to pursue sustainable digital business models  —  With the passage of the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill, Washington is not only providing help …

Biden to announce deal for additional 100 million Johnson and Johnson Covid vaccine doses  —  WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will announce plans Wednesday to purchase an additional 100 million doses of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, giving the U.S. more than enough supply to vaccinate the entire U.S. population.

Sen. Scott: ‘Woke supremacy is as bad as White supremacy’  —  The South Carolina Senator is falling in line with his Republican counterparts by taking aim at “cancel culture.”  —  Republican Senator Tim Scott told Fox News host Trey Gowdy that “woke supremacy is as bad as white supremacy.

Governor Newsom says 'we're not going back to normal' after pandemic  —  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom will say during his State of the State address that the pandemic will end soon.  But when it does, Newsom will say that “we're not going back to normal” because “normal accepts inequity.”

Exclusive: ‘Migrant president’ Biden stirs Mexican angst over boom time for gangs  —  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's government is worried the new U.S. administration's asylum policies are stoking illegal immigration and creating business for organized crime, according to officials and internal assessments seen by Reuters.

Wall Street A-Listers Fled to Florida.  Many Are Eyeing a Return  — USPS data shows few New Yorkers moved to Miami, Palm Beach  — New Jersey, California and Connecticut were most popular moves  —  The “Upper East Side” cocktail at Sant Ambroeus is just the same as in Manhattan …

Beth Moore, a Prominent Evangelical, Splits With Southern Baptists  —  A teacher on biblical topics, she cited the “staggering” disorientation of seeing denominational leaders support Donald J. Trump, among other issues.  —  One of the most prominent Southern Baptists in the country is leaving the denomination.

Susan Collins fires back at ‘bizarre’ Schumer remarks blaming her for 2009 stimulus  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, fired back at Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer after he pointedly said it was a “big mistake” to shrink the 2009 economic stimulus package in order to win her vote.

The Republican Party Isn't Going Anywhere  —  After the 2002 midterm elections, in which Republicans defied history and added to their House majority, excited GOP figures began speaking of a “permanent majority,” or at least one that would last a generation.

Restarting the Central American Minors Program  —  As another concrete step in implementing our comprehensive regional migration management strategy, we are expanding legal pathways to enter the United States by reopening the Central American Minors (CAM) program.

WaPo, USA Today Play Dumb as Comics Avoid Biden Jokes  —  Remember the excuses peddled by comedians during the Obama years?  —  This bright, handsome president is so smart, and thoughtful, there's just nothing to poke fun at.  We've tried oh, so hard, but it's impossible.